ISU World No. 63 October 2017

INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

S P E C I ANL EDITIO

NO 63 OCTOBER 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO (IS)U Dear Skating Friends, Welcome to this special edition of the ISU World which is created for the 125th Anniversary of the ISU. It is a tribute to great champions over the past 125 years. The pictures also illustrate the development of our sport. From the grainy photographs of skaters cocooned in thick jackets and wooly hats facing the elements on lakes to the ultra-fit aerodynamic superstar athletes of today.

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Archaeological evidence shows that people already used skates made of animal bones as a means of transport in the prehistory. By the eighteenth and nineteenth-century ice skating also became popular as a recreation and spectator sport. With the emergence of international competitions, in both Speed Skating and Figure Skating, as well as the forming of skating clubs and of national associations, the need to establish international standards to govern these sports became more and more apparent.

On a hot summer day in July 1892, fifteen men from several countries came together in the Dutch seaside town of Scheveningen. They shared a huge passion for ice skating. Who else would meet on a hot summer day to create an international ice skating organization ? They were our predecessors who created the ISU, the first international winter sports federation, and they laid down the foundation for international competitions.

Since the establishment of the ISU, the ice skating disciplines have developed steadily over time. In the beginning, the ISU World and European Speed Skating and Figure Skating Championships came into existence. In 1924, both Speed Skating and Figure Skating were included in the official program of the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix (FRA).

In 1967, the ISU included Short Track Speed Skating. The first official ISU World Championships took place in 1981, and the discipline became a full Olympic sport in 1992. The ISU officially recognized Synchronized Skating in 1994 and organized the first World Championships in 2000. Currently, an ISU working group is studying the conditions to be accepted as an Olympic discipline.

The past 125 years were well spent. We have grown from a handful of Members back then to more than 90 Members from all continents now. To succeed in the future, the ISU and its Members must move in tandem with developments in our societies. We are focused on fascinating the global sports audience with the great performances of the athletes and on attracting and educating new talent. I very much look forward to the ongoing collaboration to further develop and promote the ISU disciplines.

Let us shape the future together with a huge passion for our beloved sport - in the footsteps of our founders !

Jan Dijkema ISU President

JAAP EDEN (NED)

Three times World Allround Speed Skating Champion. Eden won the titles in 1893, the year following the foundation of the ISU, 1895 and 1896.

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ISU World is the official newsletter of the International Skating Union Published and produced by ISU, Avenue Juste-Olivier 17, 1006 Lausanne, Switzerland | www.isu.org Designed by : moserdesign.ch Front cover photograph : © KNSB - Huub Snoep Photography : © ISU, © IOC, © KNSB - Huub Snoep, © AFP, © Getty Images, © Martin de Jong

FIGURE SKATING Richard “Dick” Button (USA) 1948 and 1952 Olympic Champion & 5 time World Champion

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Michelle Kwan (USA) 1998 and 2002 Olympic medalist & 5 time World Champion

Katarina Witt (East Germany) 1984 & 1988 Olympic Champion & 4 time World Champion

Herma Szabo (AUT) 1924 Olympic Champion & 5 time World Champion

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Scott Hamilton (USA) 1984 Olympic Champion & 4 time World Champion

Karl Schäfer (AUT) 1932 & 1936 Olympic Champion & 7 time World Champion

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FIGURE SKATING

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Carol Heiss (USA) 1960 Olympic Champion & 5 time World Champion

Alexei Yagudin (RUS) 2002 Olympic Champion & 4 time World Champion

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Sonja Henie (NOR) 1928, 1932 & 1936 Olympic Champion & 10 time World Champion

Liudmila Pakhomova / Alexander Gorshkov (Soviet Union) 1976 Ice Dance Olympic Champions & 6 time World Champions

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FIGURE SKATING Irina Rodnina / Alexander Zaitsev (Soviet Union) 1976 & 1980 Pair Skating Olympic Champions & 6 time World Champions

Madge and Egar Syers (GBR) Syers 1st lady to compete at a World Figure Skating Championships.

1908 Olympic Champion & 2 time World Champion

Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) 2014 Olympic Champion & 2 time World Champion

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Victor An (KOR/RUS) 3 time 2006 & 3 time 2014 Olympic Champion & 18 time World Champion

Yang Yang A (CHN) 2 time 2002 Olympic Champion & 18 time World Champion

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SHORT TRACK Marc Gagnon (CAN) 1998 & 2 time 2002 Olympic Champion & 7 time World Champion

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Ladies Team Relay (KOR) 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 & 2014 Olympic Champions & 7 time World Champions

Apolo Anton Ohno (USA) 2002 & 2006 Olympic Champion & 6 time World Champion

10 Oscar Mathisen (NOR) 5 time World Champion

Clas Thunberg (FIN) 3 time 1924 & 2 time 1928 Olympic Champion & 5 time World Champion

Atje Keulen-Deelstra (NED) 1972 Olympic medalist & 4 time World Champion

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SPEED SKATING Eric Heiden (USA) 5 time 1980 Olympic Champion & 7 time World Champion

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Hjalmar Andersen (NOR) 3 time 1952 Olympic Champion & 3 time World Champion

Team Pursuit Men (ITA) 2006 Olympic Champions

Gunda Niemann (GER) 2 time 1992 & 1998 Olympic Champion & 19 time World Champion

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Martina Sablikova (CZE) 2 time 2010 & 2014 Olympic Champion & 17 time World Champion

Mass Start 2018 new Olympic discipline

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SPEED SKATING

13 Sven Kramer (NED) 2010 & 2 time 2014 Olympic Champion & 28 time World Champion

Ivar Ballangrud (NOR) 1928 & 3 time 1936 Olympic Champion & 4 time World Champion

Ard Schenk (NED) 3 time 1972 Olympic Champion & 3 time World Champion

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Lidia Skoblikova (Soviet Union) 2 time 1960 & 4 time 1964 Olympic Champion & 2 time World Champion

Ireen Wust (NED) 2006, 2010 & 2 time 2014 Olympic Champion and 18 time World Champion

Karin Enke (East Germany) 1980 & 2 time 1984 Olympic Champion & 11 time World Champion

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SYNCHRONIZED SKATING

15 Team Finland 8 time World Champions

Team Sweden 6 time World Champions

PAST MASTERS

THE FOUNDERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION STAND ON THE STEPS OF THE KURHAUS IN SCHEVENINGEN First row from left to right Lรกszlรณ Stuller (HUN), O. Bohn (GER), A.E. Barnaart (NED), Viktor Balck (SWE), George Cunningham (GBR) Second row E.L. Graf van Limburg Stirum (NED), Willem J. H. Mulier (NED), W.M. van Son tot Gellicim (NED) Third row M.Mzn. van Heloma (NED), Charles G. Tebbutt (GBR), G. Berverley Cooper (GBR), B. van Eeten (NED), Fourth row Tibor von Fรถldvรกry (HUN), J. Newton Digby (GBR), Charles Crute (GBR), H. Kolff (NED)

In July 1892 fifteen men met in Scheveningen in the Netherlands to found the International Skating Union (originally in the German language international Eislauf Vereinignung). National association representatives from the Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany/Austria and two clubs from Stockholm and Budapest attended this historical meeting to become the founders of the International Skating Union. During the first ISU Congress Willem J. H. Mulier from the Netherlands was elected as the first ISU President.

The fundamental rules for Speed Skating were established, shortly followed by Figure Skating. Today, 125 years later, the ISU includes five sports, Speed Skating, Single and Pair Skating, Ice Dance, Short Track Speed Skating and Synchronized Skating and counts 93 Members.