TheInternational Skating Union (ISU) is the internationalgoverning body for competitiveice skating disciplines, includingfigure skating,synchronized skating,speed skating, andshort track speed skating.[8] It was founded inScheveningen,Netherlands, in July 1892,[2] making it one of the oldest international sport federations. The ISU was formed to establish standardized international rules and regulations for the skating disciplines it governs, and to organize international competitions in these disciplines. It is now based inSwitzerland.
The International Skating Union (ISU)[b] was founded in 1892[10] in the Dutch seaside town ofScheveningen.[9] The meeting was attended by 15 men, as the national association representatives from the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany/Austria, and two clubs from Stockholm (Sweden) and Budapest (Hungary).[9][11] The ISU was the first international winter sports federation[9] to govern speed skating and figure skating,[12][13] as it laid down the rules for speed skating, shortly followed by figure skating.[9] In 1895, the organization streamlined its mission to deal only withamateur competitors, notprofessionals, and hosted its first amateur skating championship in February 1896 inSt. Petersburg, Russia.[14]
The United States and Canada formed a competing organization, the International Skating Union of America (ISUA), in 1907.[15][16] Over the next two years, 12 European nations had joined the ISU, while the ISUA had only its original two members.[17] The ISUA folded in 1927.[18]
European and North American figure skaters rarely competed against each other because of differences in their styles of skating.[19] The ISU had "systematized and arranged" the sport of figure skating,[19] with competitions including "a selection of ten or twelve numbers from the ISU programme, ... five minutes' free skating to music, ... [and] special figures" on one foot.[17] According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, the ISU was formed due to the necessity of establishing a schedule of compulsory figures and to adopt the international style of figure skating used outside of North America and Great Britain.[20] In 1911, Canada joined the ISU, leaving the United States as the only major competitor to not be a member.[19] This changed in 1923, when theUnited States Figure Skating Association joined the ISU[21] and in 1926, the Japanese sport governing body followed to acquire ISU membership.[22]
The first ISU competitions to emerge were the World and European Speed Skating and Figure Skating Championships.[9] Both disciplines were included in the official program of thefirst Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix in 1924.[23] The discipline of ice dancing was introduced at theInnsbruck Games in 1976.[24] After 1945, the ISU slowly continued to grow with accession of members from other countries in Europe, Oceania, and (Southern) Africa.
The ISU celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1967, when they published75 Years of European and World Championships. The organization was unable to celebrate its 25th and 50th anniversaries in 1917 and 1942 due to the two world wars.[25] In 1991, the ISU celebrated its 100th anniversary.[26]
In 1967, the ISU adoptedshort track speed skating.[9] The first officialISU World Championships in speed skating took place in 1981.[9] Short track speed skating became part of the official Olympic program in 1992.[9] The earliest speed skating competitions hosted by the ISU, between 1976 and 1980, were held under different names but have retrospectively received World Championship status. The discipline was known as "indoor speed skating" at first, until being renamed "short track speed skating" when indoor rinks for thelonger speed skating events were introduced.[27]
By 1988, 38 nations had joined the ISU. Over the next few years, the organization abandoned one of its long-held practices, eliminating the use of mandatory figures in the singles' figure skating competitions and reducing their use in ice dancing.[28] During the 1970s and 1980s, several Asian countries joined the ISU, followed in the early 1990s by many new countries emerging from thebreakup of the USSR,Yugoslavia andCzechoslovakia. In 1994,synchronized skating was formally recognized as a separate discipline,[9] and the firstISU World Championships were held in 2000 inMinneapolis, Minnesota.[9]
After the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City, Utah, the ISU implemented changes to many of its events.[29] The ISU approved the use of video replay, when available, to review referee decisions.[30] The rules for judging figure skating were also overhauled as a direct result of the2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal. According toOttavio Cinquanta, former president of the ISU, "'Something was wrong there,' ... 'Not just the individual but also the system. It existed for 70 years. Now we are trying to replace one system with another.'"[31] Anew judging system for figure skating took effect in 2005,[32] replacing the6.0 system of "perfect" scores and instead giving points for various technical elements.[33][34][35]
Since the 2000s, the ISU has experienced a new wave of expansion, with several countries in Asia and Latin America joining the organization. In 2019, skating federations from Chile,[36] Peru,[37] Turkmenistan,[38][39] and Vietnam[40] acquired membership of the ISU.
List of 80 Countries (102 Associations, Some nations have 2 organization member) in 5 Zones (Updated at 7 May 2025):[41][42]
| Number | Region | Countries |
|---|---|---|
| Four Continents (4C) | ||
| 1 | Africa | 3 |
| 2 | Asia | 21 |
| 3 | Oceania | 2 |
| 4 | Americas | 9 |
| European | ||
| 5 | Europe | 45 |
| Total | World | 80 |
Year of Membership[edit]
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In addition to sanctioning other international competitions, the ISU designates the following competitions each year as "ISU Championships":
Long track speed skating[edit]
| Figure skating[edit]
|
Short track speed skating[edit]
| Synchronized skating[edit] |
The events such as theOlympic Winter Games and theISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating are not ISU Championships. However, they do count towardsPersonal Best scores.
Dates and locations of first world championships in various disciplines held under the auspices of the ISU:
Source:[43]
Medals awarded to the skaters who achieved the highest overall placements in each discipline.
Theshort program, along with thefree skating program, is a segment ofsingle skating,pair skating, andsynchronized skating in international competitions and events for both junior and senior-level skaters.[44][45] It has been previously called the "original" or "technical" program.[46] The short program was added to single skating in 1973, which created a three-part competition untilcompulsory figures were eliminated in 1990. The short program for pair skating was introduced at the1963 European Championships, the1964 World Championships, and theOlympics in 1968; previously, pair skaters only had to perform the free skating program in competitions. Synchronized skating has always had two competition segments, the short program and free skating.
Small Medals awarded only at ISU Championships since probably 2009:[47]
Stage 1 = Small medals awarded to the skaters who achieved the highestshort program orrhythm dance placements in each discipline.
Stage 2 = Small medals awarded to the skaters who achieved the highestfree skating orfree dance placements in each discipline.
Small Medals awarded only at ISU Championships:
Small Medals not awarded in:
The ISU has an agreement with theFederation of International Bandy to use the same arenas. The cooperation between the two federations is increasing, since both have an interest in more indoor venues with large ice surfaces being built.[48]
The ISU is an international sport federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the body globally administering figure skating and speed skating sports[3] with the following disciplines:Speed skating,Single &Pair skating,Ice dance,Short track speed skating, andSynchronized skating.[9]Whereas the individual national associations administer these sports at the national level, all international matters are under the sole jurisdiction and control of the ISU.[3] The ISU has been headquartered inLausanne, Switzerland, since 1947. Also in 1947, English was adopted as the ISU's official language.[2]
There was an attempt to set up an alternative association to replace the ISU for governing and promotingfigure skating throughout the world. In March 2003, a group of several former figure skating champions (who at the time were still practicing as coaches, judges, referees) announced the creation of a new international governing body for figure skating, theWorld Skating Federation ("WSF"). This attempt ultimately failed.[49][50]
ISU is organized as anassociation pursuant to Swiss laws (art. 60 ofSwiss Civil Code).[1] It has its own legal identity and falls under the jurisdiction of Switzerland.[3]Articles of Association define ISU's purpose as
The objectives of the ISU are regulating, governing and promoting the sports of Figure and Speed Skating and their organized development on the basis of friendship and mutual understanding between sportsmen.The ISU shall work for broadening interest in Figure and Speed Skating sports by increasing their popularity, improving their quality and increasing the number of participants throughout the world. The ISU shall ensure that the interests of all ISU Members are observed and respected.[3]
The ISU Statutes consist of the ISU Constitution including its Procedural Provisions, and ISU General Regulations[51] setting out framework principles. More detailed provisions are contained in Special Regulations and Technical Rules for Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance,[52] Synchronized Skating[53] Speed Skating,[54] and Short Track Speed Skating.[55] The ISU Code of Ethics,[56][57] the ISU Anti-Doping Rules,[58] and ISU Anti-Doping Procedures[59] contain further guidelines.Additional provisions and updates can also be found in ad-hoc published ISU Communications.[60][61]
Themembers of the ISU are the individual national associations whose task is to administer figure and speed skating on ice at the national level.[3] Members are typically composed of skating clubs and athletes are individual members of those clubs. As of 20 February 2020, the International Skating Union counts 98 members.[62]
After the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ISU issued Communication No. 2469, banning all Russian and Belarusian athletes from events until further notice.[63][64] On 28 March 2023 theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a statement recommending that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to compete under a neutral flag.[65][66][67] On 11 June 2023 the ISU responded to the IOC 28 March statement, saying that the ISU Council "decided to explore the feasibility issues with regard to potential pathways to implement the IOC recommendations within ISU Sports. ...The Council will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and its impact on the ISU activity as well as the decisions and their implementation within the Olympic Movement. In the meantime, ISU Communication 2469 remains in force".[68] On 28 July the IOC responded to questions about its position.[69]
The suspension was extended in 2023,[70] 2024[71] and 2025.
The highest-ranking body of the ISU is theISU Congress which consists of the ISU Members. The Congress meets once every two years for an ordinary meeting.[3] Ordinary resolutions are passed by a simple majority of votes of the ISU Members represented and voting at a Congress.[3] Proposals require a two-thirds majority of ISU Members in favor in order to be accepted.[72]
Since the ISU's inception in 1892, 59 ordinary meetings in total have been organized.[3]
Netherlands,Scheveningen
Denmark,Copenhagen
Sweden,Stockholm
United Kingdom,London
Deutsches Reich,Berlin
Hungary,Budapest Denmark,Copenhagen Sweden,Stockholm Netherlands,Amsterdam
Austria,ViennaHungary,Budapest Netherlands,Amsterdam Denmark,Copenhagen
Switzerland,Davos
France,Bagnères-de-Luchon
Norway,Oslo Austria,Vienna
Czechoslovakia,Prague Sweden,Stockholm Switzerland,St.Moritz Netherlands,Amsterdam Norway,Oslo France,Paris Denmark,Copenhagen
Italy,Stresa Switzerland,Lausanne Austria,Salzburg France,Tours Norway,Bergen
Finland,Helsinki Austria,Vienna Netherlands,Amsterdam United Kingdom,Maidenhead Italy,Venice Denmark,Copenhagen
West Germany,Munich France,Paris Switzerland,Davos Norway,Stavanger
United States,Colorado Springs Austria,Velden am Wörther See Switzerland,Davos
New Zealand,Christchurch Switzerland,Davos United States,Boston Switzerland,Davos Sweden,Stockholm
Canada,Quebec
Japan,Kyoto Netherlands,Scheveningen
Hungary,Budapest
Monaco,Monaco
Spain,Barcelona
Malaysia,Kuala Lumpur
Ireland,Dublin
Croatia,Dubrovnik Spain,Seville
Thailand,Phuket[75][72] United States,Las Vegas[76]The ISU Council constitutes the highest ISU body between two Congresses.[77]It is the executive body of the ISU and is responsible for determining the policies of the ISU and deciding upon the general coordination of the ISU structure and strategy.[3] The Council consists of the President, a vice president, and five members for the Figure Skating Branch and a vice president, and five members for the Speed Skating Branch.[3]
In 1967, Jacques Favart, who was the ISU's vice president for figure skating, replaced Ernst Labin as ISU president due to Labin's death six weeks after taking office; Favart served for the next 13 years. Also in 1967, Sonia Bianchetti of Italy became the first woman council member.[25]
The council is assisted by the Director General and the ISU Secretariat. The Director General is responsible for the daily management of all business and financially related activities of the ISU and the operation of the Secretariat.[3]
As of the summer of 2008, the ISU consisted of 63 member nations, with a governing council of 11. To add any proposal to the agenda of meetings, it must have support from four-fifths of the members. Proposals on the agenda are approved with a two-thirds majority vote.[78]
Netherlands,Pim Mulier[2] Sweden,Viktor Balck[2] Sweden,Ulrich Salchow Netherlands, Gerrit W. A. van Laer[79][80] United Kingdom,Herbert J. Clarke[80] Switzerland, James Koch[81] Austria, Ernst Labin[25] France,Jacques Favart[82] Norway,Olaf Poulsen[83] Italy,Ottavio Cinquanta Netherlands,Jan Dijkema
South Korea,Kim Jae-youlFollowing the ISU Congress 2018, the organizational chart of the ISU includes alongside the ISU Congress and ISU Council, assisted by the ISU Secretariat, the following bodies:[77][3]
TheISU Disciplinary Commission (DC) constitutes a judicial body of the ISU.[3] It is an independent body[84] elected by the ISU Congress.[3]
TheISU Athletes Commission was introduced on the 56th ISU Ordinary Congress 2016 in Dubrovnik and represents Skaters’ positions within the ISU[85] by providing advice to the ISU Council, Technical Committees, Sports Directors, Director General and other internal bodies.[3][86]
TheISU Medical Commission coordinates compliance withanti-doping regulations.[3]
TheISU Development Commission implements the ISU Development Program in accordance with the ISU policy and the approved budget.[3]
The main functions of theISU Technical Committees include the preparation, monitoring and maintenance of the Technical Rules.[3] The following Technical Committees are established: Single and Pair Skating, Ice Dance, Synchronized Skating, Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating.[3]
ISU's role as an international sports federation involves setting the rules to ensure propergovernance of sport, notably in terms of the health and safety of the athletes and theintegrity of competitions.[87]Similar to manyinternational sports federations, ISU adopted eligibility rules.[88] Under the ISU eligibility rules, skaters participating in competitions that are not approved by the ISU face severe penalties up to a lifetime ban from all major international skating events.[89]
Historically, only amateurs were allowed to qualify for the Olympic Games and in 1962, theIOC issued the Eligibility rules which specified that persons receiving remuneration and other material advantages for participation in sport were not eligible to compete inthe Olympic Games.[90] However, the concept of amateur sport developed over time,[90] moving by the end of the 1980s towards professionalisation.[90] Respecting the Olympic principles, the ISU rules made a difference in treatment of amateur and professional skaters wishing to qualify for the Olympic Games.[90] In 1986, the limitations imposed on professional skaters were removed and the categories of "eligible" and "ineligible" persons were introduced to replace the concepts of"amateurs" and"professionals".[90] In 1998, Eligibility rules established acomprehensive pre-authorisation system by stipulating that eligible skaters could only take part in competitions approved by the ISU, and conducted under the ISU Regulations by ISU-approved officials.[90] Under the 2014 Eligibility rules, the person who breached the Eligibility rules could not be reinstated. This resulted in alifetime ban, since the loss of eligibility is not limited in time.[91]
There were attempts ofindependent organisers to hold alternativespeed skating events.
Icederby International co., Ltd sought to set up a series of events titled ‘Icederby Grand Prix’ scheduled to run for six consecutive years from 2014 to 2020.[91] Run by a Korean event organiser, it offered unprecedented prize money to attract the world's best skaters.[92]In 2011, Icederby International approached the ISU to enter into a partnership agreement and presented its action plan. Initially, Icederby includedbetting in connection with its planned Grand Prix in countries where betting was not prohibited. In January 2012, the ISU updated itsCode of Ethics to rule out the participation in all forms of betting. Two years later, Icederby notified the ISU that no betting would be organised in connection with the planned Dubai Icederby Grand Prix as betting is illegal inDubai.[91]Nonetheless, the ISU did not authorise the Dubai Icederby Grand Prix 2014 and announced that all skaters who take part in the Icederby event would be subject to the lifetime ban established by the Eligibility rules.[91] In consequence, Icederby decided not to organise the Dubai Icederby Grand Prix 2014 due to its difficulty to secure the participation of speed skaters.[91]
Two professional speed skaters,Mark Tuitert andNiels Kerstholt, lodged acomplaint and on 5 October 2015, theEuropean Commission initiated formal antitrust proceedings into alleged anti-competitive restrictions imposed by the International Skating Union on athletes and officials' economic activities and allegedforeclosure of competing alternative sport event organisers.[93]
On 20 October 2015, the ISU published the procedure for independent organisers to receive authorisation from the ISU Council.[94][95] Under the 2016 Eligibility rules, the sanctions imposed on a skater participating in non-authorised events ranged from a warning to periods of ineligibility running from an unspecified minimum to a maximum of a lifetime.[90]
In December 2017, the European Commission decided that ISU's eligibility rules breachEU competition laws.[90][96][97] The Commission gave the ISU 90 days to amend the rules and did not impose a fine.[97]The ISU disagreed with the decision, suspended the enforcement of the rules subject to the Commission decision, and put in place provisional rules.[88][98][99] In addition, the ISU filed an appeal against the EU Commission decision pending before theEU General Court.[98][100]
| Year | 2018[101] | 2019[102] | 2020[103] | 2021[104] | 2022[105] | 2023[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 35.61 |  39.64 |  25.61 | 27.78 | 35.52 | 35.86 |
| Net income/(loss) | (0.23) | 2.01 | (4.65) | (0.25) | (19.07) | (3.57) |
| Assets | 324.28 | 321.20 | 296.49 | 290.20 | 285.56 | 276.93 |
The ISU, as anOlympic Winter Sport Federation, derives its revenues from[101][3]
In 2018, the ISU generated a worldwide consolidated turnover of CHF 35.6 million, as compared to CHF 36.9 million for the financial year 2017.[101]
For the financial year 2018, the operating income for Television ISU Events (net) amounted to around 17 millionCHF, and for advertising events (sponsorship agreements) to around 6.9 million CHF.[101]
Whereas the situation regarding TV events appears to be relatively stable, the conclusion ofsponsorship agreements becomes more challenging due to a highly competitive market environment.[101] Thus, ISU has been unable to replace theSpeed Skating Title Sponsor with a similarly lucrative agreement.[101] Also, as ISU Members in China and the Republic of Korea were, for different reasons, unable to host ISUShort Track Speed Skating Events during the 2018/19 season, the ISU was also unable to maintain sponsorship agreements in those countries.[101]
As the ISU sport disciplines significantly contribute to the success of the Olympic Winter Games, the ISU can also continue to rely on substantial amounts provided by theIOC. After the successful2018 Olympic Winter Games (OWG) in South Korea, these incomes have increased as compared to the2014 OWG in Sochi and are again close to the level of the2010 OWG of Vancouver.[101]
To ensure a substantial annual interest income independent from commercial partners’ interests, the ISU employs a long-standing conservative investment policy. The interest income onhigh-rated bonds fromCredit Suisse,Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, andUBS accrued at the end of the financial year 2018 amounted to CHF 1.44 million.[101]
In 2020 the ISU launched theISU Skating Awards. The winners of the inaugural edition wereYuzuru Hanyu (Most Valuable Skater),Gabriella Papadakis /Guillaume Cizeron (Most Entertaining Program),Alena Kostornaia (Best Newcomer),Madison Chock /Evan Bates (Best Costume),Eteri Tutberidze (Best Coach),Shae-Lynn Bourne (Best Choreographer) andKurt Browning (Lifetime Achievement Award).[106]
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