Did USFSA create the "permission to test" thing in response to Michelle Kwan?

[Arwen17]

Every time I test at a non-home test session, I have to submit a "permission to test" form that shows I'm in good standing with USFSA and my home club and that my coach is aware I'm testing.

Every time I see this, I think "I bet this is Michelle Kwan's fault" lol.

Was this always a policy even before the Michelle Kwan incident or was it created because of her? I know the stories say she forged her coach's signature, but how did she forge her "permission to test" form? They always email it to me with my coach tagged on it. There's NO WAY you could ever go behind your coach's back to test nowadays.

EDIT:

Also, you have to give them your USFSA ID number when applying for the test. So to me, it's like that should pull up a red flag or something if you're banned or suspended or whatever. You shouldn't even need a piece of paper declaring you're a good girl.

That's why this really feels like something that was created because of the Michelle Kwan incident, not because of something else. They want to make sure coaches and clubs are aware of what their skaters are doing test-wise.

 

[mskater93]

This has been going on for a very long time. Even back in the 80s, if you were competing, a club officer had to sign your form for member in good standing.

 

[Arwen17]

I'm guessing michelle kwan was able to sneak her test past her coach because email wasn't ubiquitous back then and so her coach would not have been tagged on her request for a permission to test form.

 

[bruingrl]

As someone who is only a few years older than Michelle Kwan and who also skated at the same time she did, though obviously nowhere near as well, I can confirm email hardly existed at that time unless you worked for the government. That was a few years before AOL got popular.