YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T know this but Ireland is currently hosting the International Skating Union’s bi-annual conference.
You also might not care but these two ladies certainly did.
The pair were spotted outside the Convention Centre Dublin this morning as 350 delegates from 66 countries meet to discuss all things skating – both the figure and the speed kinds.
Why are they there?
You may recall some controversy within the sport back in February this year during the Sochi Winter Olympics.
South Koreans were furious that their ice princess Yuna Kim failed to secure her second gold medal in the Ladies Figure Skating. According to their claims, Russia bullied and bought its way to to the top of the podium.
Yuna was pipped to the post by Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova who scored higher in the technical category (for the jumps, spins, steps rather than the artistic and choreographed elements). Business Insider has parsed the scores, if you want to see why the final was not fixed.
Despite the transparent scoring, the website of the popular online campaigning forum, Change.org, crashed within hours of the result as hundreds of thousands logged on to sign a petition calling for a review of the judges’ scores.
And the resentment is yet to die down, it seems.
Today’s small protest features a woman holding a poster which marks the competition – 20 February 2014 – as the date of death for the sport.
And they say we’re not a nation of protesters?
By the way, why is the ISU even in Dublin?
Good question, the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) and Ireland are considered “new” to the ISU having only joined in 2008 but its President, Ottavio Cinquanta believes there is a “solid background in the field of sport that can be considered the best basis and premise for improvements in the future, also in our disciplines”.
“Dublin, the capital, is a very ancient city, full of historical heritage that deserves our attention. I extend the gratitude of the ISU to the ISAI for hosting this important moment of our Union,” he added.
A spokesperson for the ISAI told TheJournal.ie that there is currently a huge interest in skating in Ireland with oversubscribed beginners classes and about 400 people skating seriously.
He also noted that he was a “little surprised” to see the protesters this morning, but added that the women were free to hold the peaceful demonstration.
So, for the moment, the ISU has relocated to Dublin from its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, making the city the temporary home of international ice skating.
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