2016 ISU Congress | Golden Skate

2016 ISU Congress

visaliakid

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Country
United-States
Documents pertaining to the up-coming elections for ISU Elective Positions (All Contain candidate vision statements)

List of Nominees

http://isu.informz.net/ISU/data/ima...

Nomination Forms for Candidates for ISU Office

http://isu.org/council16/President-...

Nomination Forms for Candidates for Technical Committee, Single & Pairs, IceDance and Synchronized Skating

http://isu.org/council16/S-and-PTC-...

Nomination Forms for Candidates for Technical Committee, Speed Skating and Short Track

http://isu.org/council16/SSTC-STTC-...

Nomination Forms for Candidates for Disciplinary Committee

http://isu.org/council16/Disciplina...
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
Documents pertaining to the up-coming elections for ISU Elective Positions (All Contain candidate vision statements)

List of Nominees

http://isu.informz.net/ISU/data/ima...

Nomination Forms for Candidates for ISU Office

http://isu.org/council16/President-...

Nomination Forms for Candidates for Technical Committee, Single & Pairs, IceDance and Synchronized Skating

http://isu.org/council16/S-and-PTC-...

Nomination Forms for Candidates for Technical Committee, Speed Skating and Short Track

http://isu.org/council16/SSTC-STTC-...

Nomination Forms for Candidates for Disciplinary Committee

http://isu.org/council16/Disciplina...

Just had a read through the forms for the Presidential candidates.

OK, so I didn't bother reading Didier's pitch, because I knew I would get angry with the sheer hypocrisy of what he was saying.

Oh, and I have to say, I did like the way that the British candidate, Christopher Buchanan, talked about everything the ISU has done to restore it's reputation since the 2002 scandal, and that it wouldn't survive another scandal. A clever wee prompt to remind the voters that Didier had a big role in the 2002 scandal.

On the whole, though, I felt Christopher talked too much about himself. He didn't really set out his vision for the future direction of the ISU under him.

Moving onto the Dutch candidate, Jan Dijkema, and I have to be honest: when I saw that he was also standing to be the Speed Skating Vice-President, my first thought was "Do we really want another President coming from Speed Skating?" :eek:

Reading through his form, though, something struck me: it looks like he wasn't a competitive skater himself. I have always been an advocate that governing bodies should be run by former competitors of that sport. They have been there themselves, and so know better what is needed.

As for Jan's motivation write-up, I thought it was too much like the sort of mumbo-jumbo you get from marketing men and politicians. That said, I was impressed that he was the only candidate that had the foresight to include a link to his full manifesto.

Personally, the motivation write-up that impressed me was the one from the Hungarian candidate, György Imre Sallak.

For a start, he was the only candidate that had the foresight to abandon the template when filling in the form. This meant that he could fit as much into his pitch as possible by having the full page available, rather than just a restrictive box!

On the other hand, I wish he had stuck to the template for the rest of the form... (It made it harder to follow than the ones that stuck to the template)

Anyway, he was the only candidate that properly went through what he would do if he became President. And on the whole, I liked what he was saying.



I also skimmed through the Technical Committee PDF, and 2 things struck me:

  1. The sheer number of candidates that are dentists by trade.
  2. The number of times Alla Shekhovtsova's form was included.

With relation to the first, is there some sort of connection between skating and dentistry? Because a former figure skater from my part of the world (she didn't compete internationally) has also gone into the dental sector.

As for Shekhovtsova, is this a sign that they really want her to get voted in as Chair of the Ice Dance Techinical Committee as opposed to the other candidate, Halina Gordon-Poltorak?

Oh, I'm becoming too cynical! :drama:

CaroLiza_fan
 

visaliakid

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Country
United-States
I have learned today from a credible anonymous source that those ISU members working on the up-coming elections conclude that Speed Skating VP Jan Dijkema appears to be the favorite to be elected the next President of the International Skating Union. He looks to have strong support among speed skating delegates and several delegates on the figure skating side who are adamantly opposed to Mr. Gailhaguet. Also, Mr. Sallak from Hungary stands a good chance depending how the voting plays out. Both Didier and Christopher Buchanan look to have little to no chance regardless that their vision statements appear to offer the best ideas for positive changes for Skating's International governing body.

Personally, I find this information to be very disheartening! Looks like Speedy's Good Ole Boy gang will remain in control! :(
 
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Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Reading through his form, though, something struck me: it looks like he [Jan Dijkema] wasn't a competitive skater himself. I have always been an advocate that governing bodies should be run by former competitors of that sport. They have been there themselves, and so know better what is needed.

As for Jan's motivation write-up, I thought it was too much like the sort of mumbo-jumbo you get from marketing men and politicians…

That is a always an interesting question. Who is better at running a sports organization, a former athlete or a marketing person/politician?

Cinquanta, for instance, skated a little in his youth, but his claim to fame when he came to the ISU was as a marketing whiz in the private sector.

With relation to the first, is there some sort of connection between skating and dentistry? Because a former figure skater from my part of the world (she didn't compete internationally) has also gone into the dental sector.

I know one! Dr. Brian Wells competed for the U.S. in pairs (Lyons and Wells) at 1996 and 1998 worlds. Now he practices dentistry in -- are you ready -- the town of Lutz, Florida.
 
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CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
That is a always an interesting question. Who is better at running a sports organization, a former athlete or a marketing person/politician?

Cinquanta, for instance, skated a little in his youth, but his claim to fame when he came to the ISU was as a marketing whiz in the private sector.

I suppose it depends on the people that make up the organisation.

But, generally speaking, I don't trust marketing people / politicians. Unless, of course, they are Michelle Kwan... ;) :biggrin:


Because motorbike racing is my first love, my observations are largely based on what happens in the running of that sport.

  • The governing body (the FIM) is run by former competitors / former team managers.
  • The promotor of most of the World Championships (Dorna) is run by a former competitor (club level) / former team manager / former circuit manager.
  • The teams association (IRTA) is run by former competitors / current team managers.
  • The manufacturers association (MSMA) is run by the manufacturers.

By and large, all of the bodies are on the same wavelength. So, whenever there is a decision to be made, it is usually sorted out in no time. There are not months of wrangling like there is in Formula 1, where all the bodies are at loggerheads with each other because they have different agendas.

And, also unlike F1, all the decisions made by the bodies in motorcycle racing do tend to be for the good of the sport.

Of course, that is just the example from one sport. The same model could turn out to be a disaster if applied to another sport. It all depends on the people that make up the bodies, and whether they have their own agendas.

I have already mentioned Formula 1. The bodies there are also run by people who come from within the sport. But they tend to come from the management side rather than the competitor side.

  • The governing body (the FIA) is run by a former team manager.
  • The promoter (FOM) is run by a former competitor / former team manager.
  • The teams' association (FOTA) is run by a former team manager.
  • The drivers association (GPDA) is run by former and current competitors.

And they never seem to agree on anything! And anything that does get through tends to be taking the sport in the wrong direction.

As I said, it all comes down to the personalities involved. But, I do feel that to be taken in the right direction, the sport needs to be run by people who have been there themselves.

Oh, and having a governing body dedicated to figure skating (that is singles skating, pairs skating, ice dance and synchronised skating) might help...

I know one! Dr. Brian Wells competed for the U.S. in pairs (Lyons and Wells) at 1996 and 1998 worlds. Now he practices dentistry in -- are you ready -- the town of Lutz, Florida.

That is too cool! :cool:

(Do the kids still say that...?)

CaroLiza_fan
 
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visaliakid

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Country
United-States
Published Candidate Manifestos for the ISU Presidential Election – June 2016

All four Presidential Candidates Vision Statements and two candidates for Figure Skating Vice President are now available for viewing. These are not the same as the original statements linked in the lead post of this thread. They are professionally done for circulation and presentation to ISU Congress voting delegates prior to the vote in early June.

Published Candidate Manifestos for ISU President and ISU Figure Skating Vice President
 

visaliakid

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Country
United-States
My anonymous source at the #ISUCongress16 related that Didier Gailhaguet today lost most of the support that he had by his actions which was quoted as unique/tacky and left numerous delegates 'appalled'. Additionally it appears that European and Asian delegates regard Mr. Buchanan as not a serious candidate. So we will see, Friday.

From the looks of things now, Jan Djiekma of Holland appears to be the candidate with the most support and he has indicated to the delegates his intention to serve the two-year term and then step aside to allow some of the younger members of the Council to try for the top position.

As for Sallak, after the Development Coordinator position was axed today in favor of a minimum 3-member Development Committee it is safe to conclude that the Hungarian is on the outs with the members and out of the running for President. That's all I have at the moment. Will hopefully have more as Friday (election day) approaches.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
My anonymous source at the #ISUCongress16 related that Didier Gailhaguet today lost most of the support that he had by his actions which was quoted as unique/tacky and left numerous delegates 'appalled'. Additionally it appears that European and Asian delegates regard Mr. Buchanan as not a serious candidate. So we will see, Friday.

From the looks of things now, Jan Djiekma of Holland appears to be the candidate with the most support and he has indicated to the delegates his intention to serve the two-year term and then step aside to allow some of the younger members of the Council to try for the top position.

As for Sallak, after the Development Coordinator position was axed today in favor of a minimum 3-member Development Committee it is safe to conclude that the Hungarian is on the outs with the members and out of the running for President. That's all I have at the moment. Will hopefully have more as Friday (election day) approaches.

Mmmmm.

Well, you all know what I think of Didier, so it is reasurring to see that the voting members are seeing through all his hot air. (What were the actions you were referring to that alienated the members? I assume it is something other than his involvement in the 2002 scandal)

And, I have to be honest, I didn't see Christopher Buchanan as a serious candidate either. He was just too vague about his plans in his pitch.

As I said before, I liked the sound of what György Imre Sallak was saying in his pitch. So, it is disappointing that it now looks like he is an outsider.

But, I am a bit concerned about Jan Djiekma being the frontrunner. Especially now that he has made it clear that he only intends to stay in office for a couple of years if he gets in.

Put it like this, everybody accepts that the ISU needs a major overhaul. All the candidates realise this and have put it as part of their manifesto. But, I am not sure if the sort of overhaul it needs can be achieved in just 2 years.

I know it is a sore point because of the way Eurosport gives it preference in the scheduling, but snooker is a good example to look at. Re-wind to the 2009-2010 season, and snooker was in serious trouble. The number of ranking tournaments had decreased to just 6, and players were having to enter very small tournaments that nobody knew about never mind cared about just to get playing.

The old boys running the governing body (the WPBSA) were deluding themselves that snooker was still as popular as it was in the 1980's, and so didn't see any need to do anything to popularise the sport. It even got to the stage that some of the players and referees came together to organise their own series of tournaments in emerging markets for the sport, since the governing body weren't interested.

At the end of the 2009-2010 season, the players voted to put the sport into the hands of Barry Hearn, who managed a lot of the top snooker players in the 1980's and then went on to transform the sport of darts. A lot of people (myself included) do not like his attitude to things, but it means that he does get things done.

Before he could do anything, Hearn had to get new blood into the governing body. People that wanted to push the sport forwards. Once this was done, he started on the first phase of his plan.

The first phase was to increase the popularity of the sport outside it's traditional markets. This was done by bringing the aforementioned series for emerging markets in-house, and making them into minor-ranking events. And, now that they have matured, they are becoming full ranking tournaments this coming season. The result is that we now have 19 ranking tournaments, the most there has ever been.

The first phase took 6 years to complete. Now that it is complete, Hearn has moved onto the next phase of his overall plan.

So, given that the ISU seems to be in a similar position to what the WPBSA was in 2010, it is unrealistic to expect somebody to transform the way ice skating is run in just 2 years. Especially since we are talking about a body which overseas a number of vastly different sports, not just the one.

I do applaud Djiekma for realising that the ISU needs new blood at the top. But, at the same time, it needs somebody who will see it through it's transformation, not just start it off and then step aside.

CaroLiza_fan
 

Nirti

Medalist
Joined
Nov 24, 2008
György Sallak put a picture of Viktoria Pavuk in his manifesto :love:

Hum, except this, I find the 4 manifestos quite similar : we'll spend money to everybody, develop skating in all the world, give more power to federations, try to be more modern...


For Jan Dijekma, does it mean that he wants to be president just for one mandate?
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
Removing anonymous judging is great. I can't wait to personally call out the terrible judges.
 

Marin

"Efforts tell lies, but it will not be in vain."
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 10, 2015
I dare hardly believe it... We've been wishing this for so long, and it seemed as if it would never happen, that it feels so "too good to be true"... Amazing!

I am still shocked :rofl: Like " this can't be true, maybe I have misread the tweet" * goes back to read the tweet again*
 

Marin

"Efforts tell lies, but it will not be in vain."
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 10, 2015
too sad my friends and I wont be able to play our favorite game any more "Spot the judge" in protocol :devil: :gclap:
 
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