Washington — Canada's most revered figure skating icon, Barbara Ann Scott-King, has thrown her support behind the new World Skating Federation.
The 1948 Olympic champion said Saturday from her home in Florida that "I am so glad they are doing this. It's high time.
"To me there was nothing wrong with the old system. It's the people who are judging [who are the problem]."
The World Skating Federation is a new splinter group of highly respected skating officials and former skaters who want to form an athlete-centred organization that would take over duties from the International Skating Union. President Ron Pfenning says the ISU has failed figure skating and is no longer able to lead figure skating into a bright future. He said ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta and his council have shown "complete disregard" for the ISU's own constitution and rules.
The new federation would revert back to the 6.0 system of the past, institute lifetime bans for judges who are found cheating, encourage open judging, make the sport understandable and transparent to the public, and invite athletes' and coaches' voices.
"Figure skaters should have a federation run by figure skaters," Scott-King said, saying that skaters who work diligently at their sport every day suffer most from the shenanigans of high officials.
She is disturbed that former ISU officials, such as Sally Stapleford of Britain have lost their posts, apparently because of revealing misconduct.
"She gave her heart and soul and life to the sport, and now she's gone," Scott-King said.
She agrees that the sport should be governed by strict rules, and that if judges cheat, they should be banned for life. Scott-King worked as a judge at professional figure skating championships and knows what it's like to take heat for making an unpopular decision. "I've been soundly booed several times," she said. "But they have their own opinion. I like oranges. They like apples."
Secrecy is not healthy, Scott-King said. Even in her day, Scott-King recalled being told by her coach, Sheldon Galbraith, that she must trace her compulsory figures in full view of the public or of cameras, for fear that if she traced them in a corner, judges could give her any marks they chose without fear of impunity because nobody was around to see them.
Scott-King doesn't feel alone in her desire for healthy change. "I think there are quite a few of us wanting to join the WSF," she said.
Yesterday, ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta said he had little comment to make about the new federation. He said his first reaction was no reaction, because skaters were competing.
"I can't say much about it, because we do not know enough," he said. "We arrived here and suddenly we have got this information."
He said he was really shocked and not prepared to tackle the matter. But he added that he felt strong and confident about the role of the ISU. In one year, he said, the ISU has tackled many issues and has already set up a restructuring commission to change the setup of the ISU.
"I was at my breakfast one morning and I heard this news," he said. ". . . We feel we do not deserve this kind of treatment. We respect the right of other persons to stand and say we are better than you. But whether that is true or not [is another story],
"We are not afraid," he said. "We do not fear. We are good competitors."
