International Skating Union facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
International Skating Union

Sport	Ice Skating
Jurisdiction	International
Membership	101 members from 80 nations (April 2022)  Andorra  Argentina  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Australia  Belgium  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Brazil  Bulgaria  Chile  China  Chinese Taipei  Denmark  Germany  Estonia  Finland  France  Georgia  Greece  Hong Kong  India Indonesia  Ireland  Iceland  Israel  Italy  Japan  Cambodia  Canada  Kazakhstan  Qatar  Kyrgyzstan  Colombia  North Korea  South Korea  Croatia  Latvia  Liechtenstein  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malaysia Mexico Moldova  Monaco  Mongolia  Morocco  New Zealand  Netherlands  Macedonia  Norway  Austria  Peru  Philippines  Poland  Romania  Russia  Sweden  Switzerland  Serbia  Singapore  Slovakia  Slovakia  Spain  South Africa  Thailand  Czech Republic  Turkey  Ukraine  Hungary  Uzbekistan  United Arab Emirates  United States  Great Britain  Vietnam  Belarus  Cyprus
Abbreviation	ISU
Founded	23 July 1892 (1892-07-23) in Scheveningen, Netherlands
Affiliation	IOC
Headquarters	Avenue Juste-Olivier 17, Lausanne, Switzerland
President	Kim Jae-youl
Vice president(s)	Benoit Lavoie (figure skating) Tron Espeli (speed skating)
Director	Colin Smith
Operating income	CHF 35.6 million (2018)
Official website
Official language: English

The International Skating Union (ISU) is the main organization for competitive ice skating sports around the world. It sets the rules for sports like figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. The ISU was started in July 1892 in Scheveningen, Netherlands. This makes it one of the oldest international sports groups. Its main goals are to create fair rules for skating and to organize big international competitions. Today, the ISU is based in Switzerland.

History of the ISU

Jaap Eden from the Netherlands was a three-time World Allround Speed Skating Champion. He won in 1893, 1895, and 1896, right after the ISU was founded.

The International Skating Union (ISU) began in 1892 in a Dutch town called Scheveningen. Fifteen men from different countries like the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and Hungary met to create it. The ISU was the first international group for winter sports like speed skating and figure skating. It quickly made rules for both sports.

In 1895, the ISU decided to focus only on skaters who competed for fun, not for money (called amateurs). In February 1896, they held their first amateur skating championship in St. Petersburg, Russia.

For a while, the United States and Canada had their own skating organization, the International Skating Union of America (ISUA), started in 1907. But by 1927, the ISUA stopped existing because most countries joined the ISU.

European and North American figure skaters used to skate differently. The ISU helped make figure skating more organized with clear rules for competitions. In 1911, Canada joined the ISU. The United States Figure Skating Association joined in 1923, and Japan joined in 1926.

The first big ISU competitions were the World and European Speed Skating and Figure Skating Championships. Both sports were part of the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924. Ice dancing became an Olympic sport in 1976. After 1945, more countries from Europe, Oceania, and Africa joined the ISU.

In 1967, the ISU added short track speed skating. The first official ISU World Championships for this sport happened in 1981. Short track speed skating became an Olympic sport in 1992.

By 1988, 38 countries were part of the ISU. The organization also changed some rules, like making certain "figures" less important in figure skating. In the 1970s and 1980s, many Asian countries joined. In the early 1990s, new countries from the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia also joined. In 1994, synchronized skating became an official sport. The first World Synchronized Skating Championships were held in 2000.

After the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, the ISU made big changes to its events. They started using video replays to check referee decisions. They also completely changed how figure skating was judged. This was because of a judging issue at the 2002 Olympics. A new judging system started in 2005. It gave points for specific moves instead of a "perfect" score.

Since the 2000s, the ISU has continued to grow. More countries from Asia and Latin America have joined. In 2019, Chile, Peru, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam became members.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ISU decided to ban all Russian and Belarusian athletes from its events. In 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suggested that these athletes could compete as neutral athletes. The ISU is looking into how to do this, but the ban remains for now.

ISU Members

The ISU has members from many countries around the world. These members are national skating associations that manage skating in their own countries. As of April 2022, there are 101 member associations from 80 nations. Some nations have more than one member organization.

Regions of ISU Members

The ISU divides its members into two main regions:

ISU Championships

The ISU organizes many important skating competitions each year. These are called "ISU Championships."

Veteran Competitions

• World Veterans Figure Skating Championships
• World Veterans Speed Skating Championships
• World Veterans Short Track Speed Skating Championships

Olympic Games

Events like the Olympic Winter Games and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating are not called "ISU Championships." However, the scores from these events still count towards skaters' Personal Best scores.

ISU Cups and Grand Prixs

The ISU also organizes series of competitions called Cups and Grand Prixs:

• ISU Speed Skating World Cup - started in 1985
• ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup - started in 1998
• ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - started in 1995
• ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating - started in 1997

First World Championships by Discipline

Here are the first world championships held under the ISU's rules for different skating types:

• 1893: Speed skating (men only), in Amsterdam
• 1896: Figure skating (men only), in St. Petersburg
• 1906: Figure skating (ladies), in Davos
• 1908: Figure skating (pairs), in St. Petersburg
• 1936: Speed skating (women), in Stockholm
• 1952: Figure skating (ice dance), in Paris
• 1970: Sprint speed skating, in West Allis, Wisconsin
• 1978: Short track speed skating, in Solihull, UK
• 2000: Synchronized skating, in Minneapolis

Medals in Figure Skating

In figure skating, medals are given in a few ways.

Overall Medals

These are the most important medals. They are given to the skaters who get the highest scores in the entire competition for each skating discipline.

Small Medals

Small medals are given for specific parts of a competition, like the short program or the free skating program.

• The short program is a shorter performance. It was added to single skating in 1973. For pair skating, it was added in 1963. Synchronized skating has always had a short program.
• The free skating program is a longer performance where skaters can show off more of their skills and artistry.

Small medals are usually awarded only at ISU Championships, such as:

• World Figure Skating Championships
• World Junior Figure Skating Championships
• European Figure Skating Championships
• Four Continents Figure Skating Championships

Small medals are not awarded at events like:

• Figure skating at the Olympic Games
• ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
• Other international competitions

Working with Other Sports

The ISU works with the Federation of International Bandy. Both groups want more indoor ice rinks to be built, so they help each other.

How the ISU is Organized

The ISU's main office in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The ISU is an international sports organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee. It manages figure skating and speed skating sports globally. These include:

• Speed skating
• Single and Pair skating
• Ice dance
• Short track speed skating
• Synchronized skating

While national groups manage these sports in their own countries, the ISU handles all international matters.

The ISU is set up as an association under Swiss law. It has its own legal identity and follows Swiss rules. The ISU's main goals are:

• To set rules for and promote figure and speed skating.
• To help these sports grow in a friendly way.
• To make skating more popular and improve its quality.
• To increase the number of skaters worldwide.
• To make sure the interests of all ISU members are respected.

The ISU has different rules and guidelines. These include the ISU Constitution, General Regulations, and specific rules for each skating discipline. They also have rules about ethics and anti-doping.

ISU Members

The members of the ISU are the national skating associations. These groups manage figure and speed skating in their own countries. These national groups are usually made up of skating clubs, and skaters are members of those clubs. As of February 2020, the ISU had 98 member associations.

ISU Congress

The ISU Congress is the highest decision-making body of the ISU. It is made up of all the ISU members. The Congress meets every two years. To pass a regular decision, more than half of the members present must agree. For bigger changes, two-thirds of the members must agree.

Since 1892, there have been 58 ordinary meetings of the ISU Congress.

ISU Council

The ISU Council is the main group that leads the ISU between Congress meetings. It makes decisions about the ISU's plans and how it works. The Council includes a President, two Vice Presidents (one for figure skating and one for speed skating), and ten other members.

The Council gets help from the Director General and the ISU Secretariat. The Director General manages the daily business and money matters of the ISU.

Presidents of the ISU

Pim Mulier was the first President of the ISU.

Here are the people who have been President of the ISU:

1. 1892–1895  Netherlands, Pim Mulier
2. 1895–1925  Sweden, Viktor Balck
3. 1925–1937  Sweden, Ulrich Salchow
4. 1937–1945  Netherlands, Gerrit W. A. van Laer
5. 1945–1953  United Kingdom, Herbert J. Clarke
6. 1953–1967  Switzerland, James Koch
7. 1967–1967  Austria, Ernst Labin
8. 1967–1980  France, Jacques Favart
9. 1980–1994  Norway, Olaf Poulsen
10. 1994–2016  Italy, Ottavio Cinquanta
11. 2016–2022  Netherlands, Jan Dijkema
12. 2022–present  South Korea, Kim Jae-youl

ISU Commissions and Committees

The ISU also has several groups that help it run smoothly:

• ISU Disciplinary Commission: This group handles rule-breaking and fairness issues.
• ISU Athletes Commission: This group represents the skaters and gives advice to the ISU leaders.
• ISU Medical Commission: This group makes sure anti-doping rules are followed.
• ISU Development Commission: This group helps grow skating sports around the world.
• ISU Technical Committees: These groups create and update the specific rules for each skating sport.

Rules for Skaters

The ISU sets rules to make sure skating is fair and safe for athletes. These rules also help keep competitions honest. Skaters must follow the ISU's rules to compete in major international events. If skaters compete in events not approved by the ISU, they could face serious penalties.

In the past, only "amateur" skaters (who didn't earn money from skating) could compete in the Olympics. Over time, these rules changed. By the 1980s, professional skaters could also compete. Now, the ISU has rules about who is "eligible" to compete. Skaters can only take part in competitions approved by the ISU.

In 2017, the European Commission said that some of the ISU's rules might not follow fair competition laws. The ISU disagreed but changed some of its rules while appealing the decision.

ISU's Money and Events

The ISU gets its money from a few main sources:

• TV Deals: Money from TV companies that broadcast ISU events worldwide.
• Sponsors: Money from companies that sponsor ISU events.
• Olympic Contributions: Money from the IOC for the Winter and Youth Olympic Games.
• Investments: Money earned from the ISU's financial investments.

In 2018, the ISU made about 35.6 million Swiss francs. About 17 million came from TV rights and 6.9 million from sponsorships. Finding new sponsors can be hard because there is a lot of competition.

The ISU also launched the ISU Skating Awards in 2020. These awards celebrate top skaters, coaches, and choreographers. Winners have included Yuzuru Hanyu and Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron.

Images for kids

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  ISU Logo

See also

In Spanish: Unión Internacional de Patinaje sobre Hielo para niños

• International figure skating
• List of international sport federations
• Long track speed skating
• Short track speed skating
• Synchronized skating
• ISU Figure Skating Championships