http://www.examiner.com/article/isu-con ... t-it-meansISU Congress: What happened and what it meansThe International Skating Union's 54th Ordinary Congress took place during the past week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. As is the case every year, there were a number of revisions to the rules, both general and specific to the ISU Judging System (IJS). Below are the major changes that will affect the way that Olympic-eligible figure skating will operate post-Congress.
Unification of age limitsOne of the rules that have always been baffling is the fact that skaters who are age-eligible for the Grand Prix series and other senior competitions are not age-eligible for the ISU Championships (Europeans, Four Continents, and Worlds) and the Olympics. The (flawed) premise is that allowing them to compete in senior events gives the younger skaters experience competing with the senior skaters. But what's the point of giving them experience and then denying them access to the biggest competitions that season?
Beginning with the post-Sochi season (2014-15), the minimum age requirement, 15 by July 1 of the preceding year, will be the same for all senior competitions. Had it been the case for next season, then skaters like Russia's Julia Lipnitskaia would have been ineligible for the Grand Prix series. But luckily for her and for the Russian Skating Federation, the rule change timing will keep her in the Grand Prix next season, giving her the chance for valuable pre-Olympic-season experience.
But really, why raise the age for the non-Championship competitions to 15 rather than lower the age for the ISU Championships and the Olympics to 14? As I've written before, the age limit, while understandable in theory, doesn't really do much in practice. I'd still say get rid of the age limit altogether. It's not doing what it's supposed to.
Vocal music for singles and pairsYou read it right, vocal music will be allowed for singles and pairs skating beginning with the 2014-15 season. Currently, vocal music is only allowed in ice dance. The introduction of vocal music for the rest of the disciplines is no doubt at least partially a way to increase interest in figure skating.
As with most drastic changes in figure skating, the inclusion of vocal music will likely require a few seasons of adjustment. There will likely be some missteps along the way, but I don't think skating fans should fret too much about the change.
IJS changesIn addition to those two big rule changes above, there are additional revisions to the IJS, including:
Another level - Non-jump elements now have an additional level. Currently, these elements start at Level 1, with a maximum of four levels. Starting next season, there will be a base value of 0, with four additional levels, for a total of five levels.
Step sequence undifferentiation - You know how straight-line sequences aren't really straight-line sequences anymore? Well, there won't be a differentiation between straight-line, circular, and serpentine anymore. (Dick Button of the 1990s will lament the loss of "serpentine" as a go-to word of choice.) Step sequences are now just step sequences.
Choreographic sequences - The men's choreographic step sequence and the ladies' and pairs' choreographic spiral sequence have been combined under the umbrella of "choreographic sequences." It isn't much of a change for the men, but for the ladies and pairs, this choreographic sequence will require at least one spiral.
Incentive for better distribution of difficulty in the short - Much like jumps and lifts get a 1.1 multiplier in the free skate after the two-minute mark, there will be a 1.1 multiplier to the base value of jumps (and according to the ISU language, only jumps) performed in the second half (after 1:25) in the short program. This is certainly a welcome change to the jump-jump-jump-and-then-the-program-begins pattern that is commonly seen, particularly in the men's short.
