Special investigation: ISU to introduce radical changes to stamp out ‘trading’ of young athletes
In an extraordinary backflip, the International Skating Union wants to raise the minimum competition age to stamp out the international ‘trading’ of young athletes following Australian Katia Alexandrovskaya’s death.
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Underage figure-skaters would be banned from the sport under a radical proposal from the sport’s world governing body in the wake of Katia Alexandrovskaya’s death.
In an extraordinary backflip, the International Skating Union (ISU) says it wants to raise the minimum competition age from 15 to 17 to stamp out the international ‘trading’ of young athletes.
The move is a bid to reduce the immense pressure on pre-teen and early adolescent skaters to perform complex jumps and dangerous routines in order to be ready for the Olympics and other international competitions before their bodies have matured.
An investigation by The Australian and The Telegraph into Alexandrovskaya’s apparent suicide has also prompted the Australian Human Rights Commission to say its ongoing investigation into athlete welfare in gymnastics should also apply to other sports, including figure-skating.
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More than a month after Alexandrovskaya took her own life, Australian sporting officials have still not agreed to an inquiry into the circumstances leading up to her death, despite serious concerns about the accountability and welfare of underage athletes.
So other authorities are taking matters into their own hands and looking at major reforms – including raising the age of Olympic ice skaters.
Under ice skating’s international regulations, competitors are permitted to enter senior competitions from the age of 15 but critics argue that’s far too young, saying it increases the risk of injury and the international ‘trading’ of talented child athletes – a practice that World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe likened to ‘human trafficking.”
Alarmed by the burnout rate and injuries suffered by teenage skaters attempting increasingly complex and dangerous jumps, the Dutch Skating Federation last year submitted a proposal to the ISU to elevate the minimum age to 17.
The matter was not even discussed at the meeting after it was removed from the agenda following a procedural motion but the ISU President Jan Dijkema told The Australian and The Daily Telegraph that Alexandrovskaya’s death has triggered a re-think.
Sporting federations have been under fire for not taking action earlier but have been shamed into taking action as more cases emerge, including the global gymnastics scandal, the death of Alexandrovskaya and Jessica Shuran Yu’s chilling account of how she was physically and emotionally abused while training in China.
Dijkema also revealed the ISU’s medical commission has already begun a full review into mental health issues affecting young skaters and was working with the International Olympic Committee to find real solutions to the dark secrets that are emerging as more and more athletes speak up.
“The ISU, through the respective ISU member federations, is trying to obtain information that might lead to review certain ISU Rules and procedures, especially related to the applicable age limits,” he said.
“Besides a possible ISU council proposal to be put on the agenda of the 2021 Congress, some ISU member federations have also signalled their intention to do so.
“Consequently, there will most likely be a debate on the issue during the 2021 Congress.”
The ISU Congress was due to be held in Thailand this year but was pushed back 12 months because of the global pandemic so any decisions about raising age limits will come too late for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing but could be in place by 2026.
Gymnastics Australia recently engaged Australia’s peak human rights authority to conduct an independent review to examine “the nature and impact on athletes of misconduct, bullying, abuse, sexual harassment and assault within gymnastics in Australia” and come up with recommendations to prevent it happening again.
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The investigation by The Australian and The Daily Telegraph has unearthed similar cultural problems in ice skating, with revelations Alexandrovskaya – who was approached about switching nationalities from Russia to Australia when she was 15 – was battling alcohol dependency after the sudden death of her father and had suffered multiple concussions and was so broke after he funding was slashed that she could hardly afford to eat.
While the commission has not been asked to investigate ice skating, AHRC told The Australian and The Daily Telegraph the findings and recommendations from the gymnastics probe should be adopted right across the board.
“The Commission acknowledges the issues raised within the Review may not be contained to gymnastics. It is anticipated that the learnings, outcomes and recommendations may be applicable to other sports,” AHRC said.
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