Ice Skating Australia responds after being stripped of official status following shocking abuse allegations

Ice Skating Australia has responded after being stripped of its official status as the sport’s national governing body following the shocking allegations of abuse within the sport.

Former Australian Olympic flagbearer Brendan Kerry was anned for life in the United States over the alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor. He has denied the allegations and is fighting the claim. Picture: Harry How/Getty Images

Ice Skating Australia (ISA) says it has already started to look at how it can restructure itself after being stripped of federal government recognition as a national sporting organisation (NSO).

In a statement to this masthead, ISA President Wendy Meik said skating officials were still trying to figure out the exact implications of losing government recognition, but were planning to overhaul the organisation regardless in the hope they can be recognised again in the future.

“Ice Skating Australia (ISA) was informed by letter on Thursday 27th June 2024 that its Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Recognition Update application had been declined as the requirements hadn’t been completed to the Australian Sports Commission’s required timeframe. This decision by the ASC is totally unrelated to any recent matters,” ISA said.

Brendan Kerry carried the Australian flag at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Picture: AFP

“Ice Skating Australia Incorporated continues to work hard for the sport of Figure Skating. As part of that work ISA is in the process of changing its structure to becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee as required by the Australian Sports Commission. At this point in time ISA is unaware of the ramifications of the ASC decision and will be Investigating various options.”

Meik also reaffirmed ISA’s commitment to cooperating with Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) to ensure ISA’s policies and procedures are consistent with the expectation of both SIA and the ASC after the sporting watchdog appointed its own officer to manage the flood of complaints coming from participants.

Losing recognition as an NSO is a rare but serious punishment that means ISA is ineligible for a raft of benefits, including access to public funding and the right to use the Commonwealth Coat of Arms on athlete uniforms.

While ISA maintains the decision is unrelated to the recent complaints about behavioural problems within the sport, it follows the news that Brendan Kerry, who carried the Australian flag at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, has been banned for life in the United States over the alleged sexual misconduct involving a minor.

Kerry denies the accusations and is fighting the claims. No criminal charges have been laid.

Brendan Kerry and Laura Peel carried the Australian flag at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Picture: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

News of Kerry’s ban has triggered a flood of complaints about other problems within the sport.

While the ASC issued a brief statement but did not disclose the specific reasons, the policy link on their website says sports can lose their NSO status if they fail to meet the required governance standards in relation to constitutional, boardroom and code of conduct matters.

Under the ruling, the ISA cannot reapply for recognition until March 2025, less than a year before the next Winter Olympics, taking place in Italy.

Brendan Kerry. Picture: Daniel Mihailescu / AFP

The International Skating Union was asked for comment about whether ISA can remain affiliated to the global governing body.

Just a fortnight ago, ISU met in Las Vegas to vote on adopting groundbreaking new measures to protect participants.

These included giving more money to national federations to implement safeguarding initiatives in their own countries to help athletes deal with physical and mental wellbeing matters.

DISCLAIMER: In an earlier version of this story, it was incorrectly reported that an AOC spokesperson had corroborated reports when it was instead an ASC spokesperson.

Originally published as Ice Skating Australia responds after being stripped of official status following shocking abuse allegations