The Future of Figure Skating – Details, episodes & analysis

Elizabeth Ramsey is the Executive Director of the Team USA Athletes Commission. Team USA is working toward a fully independent athletes' commission, as recommended by the Congressional Commission on the State of US Olympics and Paralympics. She has an important viewpoint to add to the conversations on athlete representation and how increase the power of the athletes voice in figure skating. This is also a great episode to dig into as we watch the Paris Games!

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-IXRwYopUtIpXG4YucUjJRUIMLlo-0PWLaiK8wDRLTc/ ]kS Athletes Commission Independence Website w/ sign-on letter for US Athletes https://www.usopc.org/teamUSAAC-independence Team USA instagram @ TeamUSAAC and Twitter @ TeamUSA_AC Youtube https://youtu.be/49DTRnkLXSE?si=Z3Cl54naWLkj-PLw

Commission on the State of US Olympics and Paralympics https://www.csusop.org/ You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

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Ashley Cain is a two-time U.S. champion in pairs and 2022 Olympian. In the last two years, she has been coaching, and touring with Disney on Ice. We talked about life on tour, the advantages of being a tall pair girl, concussion protocol and recovery, and being part of a generation of young coaches who want to support healthier and happier skaters.

Transcript available: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G9kWS5c946dHfGNWVdl0INo5WStXQyJXYrMFRhvb_lo/Instagram

You can follow Ashley on instagram at @ icegirlash

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast 

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

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This episode features Bruno Massot, the 2018 Olympic and World Champion in pairs. Bruno is now coaching full-time, and we spoke at the European Championships where he was accompanying the Swedish team of Greta and John Crafoord. This was a shorter-than-usual conversation but it was still a very interesting one. We got into the future of pairs and what makes for a great coach.

You can follow Bruno on Instagram at @bruno_massot and reach me with comments or suggestions by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast.

Episode transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N...

Make sure you're subscribing on your podcast platforms and on YouTube to ensure you get all of the future episodes. Special thanks to Ivan Danyliuk for editing and technical assistance.

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the tip jar at https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

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Johanna Allik is a former Estonian national team member in singles and ice dance and the co-founder of JIV Sport apparel company. She has recently published The Book of Figure Skating, a beautiful coffee table book full of information and original interviews. We spoke at the 2024 European Championships about the growth of skating in Estonia and Belgium (where she now lives), her experience speaking out about her eating disorder and the importance of keeping athletes in the sport post-puberty.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zbD-_g2wahzKCTf8Kc55S49dponx21bXjFujHGl1p5c/edit?usp=sharing

You can follow Johanna on Instagram @johannaallik and check out her YouTube channel @johannaallik7

You can order The Book of Figure Skating at jivsport.com

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast .

Special thanks to Ivan Daniluk for editing and technical assistance. If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

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Joining me in conversation were Isabelle Ragnarsson of Ice Theatre of Stockholm, Kate McSwain of American Ice Theatre, Katja Grohmann of Ice Lab Leipzig, Maja Luther of Maja Luther Studio, and returning guest Phillip Tischendorf. In October, they spent a few days together in France with other contemporary skaters at the second annual Performing Arts Project. I was eager to learn more about their companies, their collaborations, and the different approaches each brings to contemporary skating.

00:00:00 – Introduction and Welcoming 00:02:43 – Skating Journeys 00:18:30 – Collaborative Projects 00:24:22 – Pandemic Learnings 00:36:15 – Contemporary and traditional skating 00:46:12 – Connecting skating and dancers 01:04:45 – Future of contemporary skating

You can learn more about the Contemporary Skating Alliance and its member companies at https://contemporaryskatingalliance.org/

The next CSA Performing Arts Project event will be November 1-3, 2024.

Thumbnail photo credits: Johannes Hjorth (@johanneshjorth)

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

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Episode Notes

Today's guest is Jamal Othman, the managing director for the Ice Academy of Montreal and Markey International Arts. Jamal was the 2009 Swiss national champion. In his post-competitive career, he has combined his interest in international business with his love of skating. In this episode, we talk about marketing and branding, the Olympic cycle, and how ice dance can fit between sports, art, and entertainment.

This is also the first video episode for the Future of Figure Skating, so make sure to check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch this conversation and future episodes.

Thank you again to Jamal for sharing his thoughts and experiences with us. As always, the episode transcript is available: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bTCEZLBswkXeYA9fyBiWu_7Cgil6m8UYQSLgCV36-wY/edit

You can follow Jamal’s work at @iceacademyofmontreal and @markeyintlarts on Instagram.

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast . We are also now on YouTube, so make sure to subscribe there too for video episodes! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHbYK7VLpHJSCbfQwEcqGhg

Special thanks to Ivan Danilyuk for editing and technical assistance.

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Find out more at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

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Philipp Tischendorf is a former competitive figure skater for Germany, a member of the Contemporary Skating Alliance, and an osteopath and physical therapist. He has turned his experience with injury, pain, and rehabilitation during his athletic career into a practice supporting both skaters and the general public. This episode challenges our misconceptions about injury and invites us to ask, how can we approach injury and pain with curiosity and even appreciation?

Transcript

You can follow Phil on Instagram @phil_care.

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast 

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Resources: Philipp Tischendorf - European Championships Short Program 2007

Social Determinants of Health and Pain Management

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain (CIS)

The Cortical Homunculus

Phantom Limb Pain

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Artificial intelligence is impacting many industries, and sports is no exception. How can AI help figure skating judging be more accurate? What other benefits could it have for skaters, coaches and viewers? My guest today is Craig Buntin, a Canadian Olympic pairs skater and the founder of Sportlogiq. Sportlogiq is a company at the cutting edge of this technology and has been working with the ISU to explore the feasibility of AI in figure skating. While Craig wasn’t able to discuss the details of his work with the ISU, I’m very glad to have him help us understand the intersection of technology and skating.

According to the May 2023 ISU financial report, the objectives under consideration were: “helping Figure Skating Officials to apply the rules correctly and giving them the technical support to evaluate the performed elements in the fairest and most impartial way possible, offering Skaters and Coaches measurement and analysis tools to evaluate and improve their performance, as well as keep track of the work done and goals achieved, and expanding the multi-media audience, allowing the sport to be enjoyed on different platforms and connecting the key players and their teams with the public and fans by presenting instantaneous statistics/graphics.” The initial proof-of-concept phase concluded these objectives were achievable. However, the conclusions also revealed that “ such projects would require a substantial budget, not only for implementation for ISU Figure Skating Events but also use by the ISU Members. The ISU Council is therefore currently exploring whether more cost-effective solutions could be available.” Even if the implementation of AI isn’t imminent, it’s worth understanding what it is, and how it could impact the sport in the future.

Transcript

You can learn more at sportlogiq.com and can follow Craig on Twitter @craigbuntin.

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Find out more at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

This is a special episode, rebroadcasting the live discussion held on August 2nd with Anything GOE. We discussed the classic book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters. Lois and I talked with the author Joan Ryan, and Olympian Kaitlyn Weaver. It also goes full circle for me as the one-year anniversary of this podcast - which also began with an interview with Kaitlyn Weaver!

You can also watch the video archive of the conversation on the Anything GOE youtube page, and read the transcript here.

Joan Ryan is on Twitter @JoanRyan and her website is https://www.joanryanink.com

You can follow AnythingGOE on social media and find our latest interviews on Youtube and AnythingGOE.com

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast 

If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Support The Future of Figure Skating by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/futureoffigureskating

Find out more at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

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What would it take to increase the power of figure skaters so they can influence the decisions that govern their sport? Where else in the Olympic movement is progress being made? What can we learn from sports where players’ unions and collective bargaining are common? To answer some of these questions, I turned to Rob Koehler, the Director General of Global Athlete, an organization that helps athletes to organize and speak out on the issues they care about. Rob was previously the Deputy Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the most senior of many positions he held at WADA between 2002 and 2018. He was also vice-chair of the WADA Independent Observer team at the Sochi Olympics. Rob is based in Montreal, Canada.

I hope this episode gives you a taste of what is possible when athletes organize and use their voices to push for fairer sport!

Transcript is available here.

You can follow Rob on Twitter at @RobKoehler2 and Global Athlete @GlobalAthlete.

You can reach me with comments or suggestions for topics and people I should talk to, by email at [email protected] or on Instagram and Twitter @futurefspodcast   If you appreciate the podcast, you can also support my work with the Tip Jar at https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co

Remember to subscribe and review The Future of Figure Skating podcast on whatever platform you use, and share it with your friends!

Resources Olympic Commercialization and Player Compensation: A Review of Olympic Financial Reports. Report by The Ted Rogers School of Management in partnership with Global Athlete - April 2020 https://www.globalathlete.org/research-and-surveys/olympic-commericalization

Athletes Germany https://athleten-deutschland.org/en/english/ Rule 40: Do athletes control their image during the Olympics https://athelogroup.com/blog/rule-40-and-the-olympics/ Rule 50: Athlete expression and protest https://olympics.com/athlete365/athlete-expression-rule-50/ Open Letter to the IOC:  https://www.globalathlete.org/our-word/open-letter-ioc-russia-belarus-june-2023 Open Letter Call for Skate Canada and the Government of Canada to Address Abuse in Figure Skating https://www.globalathlete.org/our-word/open-letter-call-for-skate-canada-and-the-government-of-canada-to-address-abuse-in-figure-skating Canadian Parliament Standing Committee on the Status of Women report, Time to Listen to Survivors: Taking Action Towards Creating a Safe Sport Environment for All Athletes in Canada, Recommends the “Government of Canada establish an independent national public inquiry into maltreatment in sports in Canada”. Athletics Association https://athleticsassociation.org/ THE ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION WELCOMES RETURN TO 32 EVENTS IN NEW DIAMOND LEAGUE FORMAT https://athleticsassociation.org/updates/the-athletics-association-welcomes-greater-inclusivity-in-new-diamond-league-format International Swimmers Alliance https://www.internationalswimmersalliance.org/ Aspen Institute, Project Play “Children’s Rights in Sport”  https://projectplay.org/childrens-rights-and-sports Sharon Stoll, “What Kind of Character do Athletes Possess” https://thesportjournal.org/article/what-type-of-character-do-athletes-possess/ Evan Bates speaks out https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2023/06/23/olympic-skaters-still-missing-medals-500-days-later/70349368007/ ISU Athletes Commission https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/about/athletes-commission ISU Statement on support for Ukrainian skaters and Russian/Belarussian Participation, June 2023 https://www.isu.org/isu-news/news/145-news/14614-isu-statement-ioc-recommendations-of-march-28-2023?templateParam=15

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