SynchroNice / Fourth Edition / 2019

development of Synchronized Skating, as well as giving athletes support and access to training facilities and sport science services that are reserved for sports currently included in the Olympic program. There would also be growth within the ISU Members currently involved in Synchronized Skating because of the cachet and reputation that would come from being a recognized Olympic Sport. This would confirm Synchro­ nized Skating’s position as an important ISU Team Disci­ pline to those national federations that have an exclusive focus on developing only Olympic recognized disciplines. Another key area of benefit of Olympic program inclusi­ on would be the ability of Teams, Member Federations and the ISU to access a much greater number of major sponsors for this attractive Team sport. Our athletes represent a strikingly attractive example of health and fitness whilst participating in a highly demanding Team sport. This combined with the Olympic distinction would prove a highly attractive proposition. One of the often-mentioned targets for the Synchronized Skating community is to extend their competition season. We witnessed several attempts made by skating organizations and Fe- derations, but all these competitions seemed to have vanished before they even got started. A money thing, for sure, but teams only have limited budgets to travel to competitions and traveling too early in the season could be a waste of budget. Isn’t there anything the ISU could do to financially support these startup competitions, at least until they’re well established? I can admit that the length of the competitive season has been quite short in the past, but it is improving. There are new Synchronized Skating competitions starting much earlier than in the previous seasons’ competitive calen­ dar. Of course, when a new competition is introduced, it takes some time for this new competition to become known and established among the Synchronized Skating Family. As indicated, we can support ISU Members through our ISU Development Program. Furthermore, the possible idea of a new ISU Challenger Synchronized Skating Series will help to raise the profile of new competitions and therefore increase interest among Teams. From the start of your appointment as ISU president, you introduced a new policy and bodies like an athletes committee. Have all of your efforts already resulted in a more professionalized Synchronized Skating discipline and what can the community itself do to keep progressing towards a possible inclusion in the Olympic Games? One of our key priorities has been the marketing and promotion of all the ISU sports to further increase the global fan base and its engagement. Regarding Synchronized Skating, the media and broadcast impact should be increased. In light of the ISU’s fan-centric digital strategy, we are creating and publishing more content for fans on digital platforms than ever before, which also allows us to better promote events including Synchronized Skating events. For example, the ISU Junior and Senior Synchronized Skating World Cham­ pionships have been included in the ISU Skating Channel for live streaming and post-event viewing. The Synchronized Skating Community must continue to grow and expand. Teams can try to be stronger; Skaters can improve their skating and synchronized skating skills and therefore push the requirements of the discipline to further heights and difficulty levels. Member Federations should support, aide and promote the discipline’s development whenever the opportunity arises. Together we can move forward! The message is clear, let’s do this together. We have about five years to work on the challenges for Olympic inclusion, so let’s get to it, because time flies! #whynot2026  The Figure Skate Company S U P P O R T R A T I N G S U P P O R T R A T I N G 45 MODERATE S U P P O R T R A T I N G S U P P O R T R A T I N G 80 STRONG Straight Cut Pick Cross Cut Pick Straight Pick