Opaque - People Don’t Fail, Leaders Do, Part II


Opaque

People Don’t Fail, Leaders Do, Part II, by Jimmie Santee



Originally published Sep/Oct 2014 PS Magazine



As reported in the USA Today last February 21, Ashley Wagner called the ISU judging rules, “too opaque.” “It’s not clear enough to the audience and it needs to be more fan friendly so that we can get a wider fan base,” she said, “I think we need to get rid of the anonymous judging.” Millions of fans reportedly signed a petition demanding a full investigation, and eventually, both the Korean Skating Union and Korean Olympic Committee filed a complaint with the ISU against Ms. Alla Shekhovtseva, the Russian judge and wife of Valentin Piseev, the General Director of the Russian Figure Skating Federation. Shekhovtseva was seen hugging Adelina Sotnikova, the newly crowned Olympic gold medalist in the media mix zone.



Many who watched the Ladies event thought that Yuna would win her second Olympic gold. I was in that group, and in my opinion, the gold medal race was closer between Yuna and Carolina Kostner.



But…I’m not going to discuss the results any further because of anonymous judging. While everyone could see the protocols, there was no direct proof that the judging was biased. I mean we could see it and smell it… but there was no smoking gun regarding the marks. No Assessments (the term used by the ISU to discipline judges for judging errors) were given.

Point in case – while the Korean Skating Union and Korean Olympic Committee filed a complaint with the ISU, it was for an alleged conflict of interest. Their Complaint led off with this paragraph:



We respectfully submit this formal complaint (this “Complaint”) to the Disciplinary Commission of the International Skating Union (the “DC”) and request for action to be carried out in connection with the wrongful constitution of the panel of judges and the unjust outcome of the competition caused thereby in the ladies’ single figure skating competition (the “Competition”) at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games which were held from 19th to 20th February 2014 at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia.


A second complaint by the Koreans objected to Shekhovtseva hugging Sotnikova in the mixed zone. With her marriage to Piseev, the Koreans viewed her inclusion in the judging pool as a conflict of interest and suggested her allegiance to her husband, the Russian Federation, and the Russian skaters impacted her independence. The Russians reply, “Congratulating a champion and winner of the gold medal in the opinion of the Alleged Offender is not a violation of rules but a normal gesture and an appreciation of the skater’s hard work.”


A Readers Digest version of the ISU’s answer to the complaint:



Statement from the ISU, “Article 24 Paragraph 1 of the ISU Constitution 2012 provides, in part, as follows: The DC serves as a first instance authority to hear and decide all charges referred to it by any ISU authority or party against any Skater, Official, Office Holder or other participant in ISU activities (Alleged Offender) accused of a disciplinary or ethical offence (Offence).”

The result:



Complaint #1 is inadmissible and must be dismissed.

Complaint #2 is dismissed. “… It gives the impression to the Panel, that the skater instigated the embrace and the Alleged Offender did not refuse but returned the hug and kissed the skater.


The upsetting part of this whole debacle is that the core issue of anonymous judging was never addressed; basically because the ISU rules don’t allow for transparency or the right to challenge it.



In my last editorial, which was written prior to the ISU Congress in Dublin, Ireland, I was highly critical of Cinquanta’s ISU presidency and listed his many faults and failures as a leader. The list continues to grow. At this recent congress, there was a proposal to eliminate anonymous judging. As a rule, the ISU Congress needs a two thirds vote for the proposal to pass. Beverly Smith, a long time reporter for Toronto’s Globe and Mail, reported that a source told her the vote was close; 30 voted yes, 24 no, and two abstained. Abstained? More surprisingly, Russia voted to change the rule and South Korea did not.



I love a good Machiavellian plot… South Korea hosts the next Olympics and votes to keep judging anonymous…to their advantage?…revenge? The Russians got what they wanted; total domination (almost) of the Olympic Figure Skating event on home soil. Why change the rule? The list of who voted down the proposal included former Soviet bloc countries: Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, Georgia, Poland, and Slovakia. If Russia was able to do the math, they could vote for the proposal and come out looking like the good guy… to be continued!

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