10.06.2026
The 60th Ordinary ISU Congress is officially underway in Tenerife, Spain, bringing together 88 ISU Members from across the skating world. Welcoming delegates, ISU President Jae Youl Kim thanked Members for their continued support and highlighted the progress made since the Extraordinary Congress in Lausanne in 2025.
Delegates received a special video message from IOC President Kirsty Coventry during the opening session of the 60th Ordinary ISU Congress:
Opening his report, ISU President Jae Youl Kim reflected on the feedback Members provided four years ago and how it shaped the Vision 2030 strategy. Built around the pillars of Growth, Opportunity, Innovation, Safeguarding and Unity, the strategy has guided the ISU's work to modernize the sport and strengthen its future.
ISU President, Jae Youl Kim, stated: "At the last Ordinary Congress, in Las Vegas in 2024, we agreed upon our Vision 2030 with the GO ISU pillars: Growth, Opportunity, Innovation, Safeguarding and Unity. We began our courageous transformation journey confidently and together."
ISU President Jae Youl Kim reflected on the progress made since taking office in 2022, highlighting the transformation driven by the Vision 2030 strategy. He pointed to major achievements across governance, event presentation, digital engagement, athlete recognition, safeguarding and development, while emphasizing that the modernization of the ISU's Constitution and governance framework marked a significant milestone in the past four years.
ISU President stated: "Everyone involved at the ISU has worked diligently and with ambition throughout the last four years to deliver on those promises, and the progress has been significant."
Under the Growth pillar of Vision 2030, the ISU has transformed the presentation of its events to create more engaging experiences for fans in arenas, on television and across digital platforms. Investments in athlete storytelling, upgraded graphics, enhanced broadcast production, new camera technologies and venue presentation have helped elevate skating's profile on the global stage.
The ISU introduced LED screen technology for the first time at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Grenoble, France, in December 2024, before progressively expanding its use across selected key ISU events. During the Olympic season, LED screens were also integrated into the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, enhancing the presentation of skating on the sport’s biggest stage and creating a more immersive experience for athletes, fans, broadcasters, and commercial partners alike.
ISU President stated: "We want skating to be presented at its very best, not only for our skaters and our fans, but also for commercial partners and media."
NBC Sports and the IOC also praised the enhanced presentation of skating events during the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Gary Zenkel, NBC Sports President said: "We at NBC applaud the ISU's innovative thinking, including upgrades to sports presentation such as the LED screens and athlete introductions. This adds to the spectacle and provides a 'big event' feel that helps elevate the experience for athletes, spectators, and our television and streaming audiences."
The ISU has introduced a range of innovations designed to improve transparency and help fans better understand officiating decisions. These include live video review feeds, referee announcements and the Referee Liaison System, which provides broadcasters with additional information to explain decisions during competition.
Following their successful introduction at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, several of these initiatives will now be implemented across future ISU Short Track events.
ISU President stated: "This allowed viewers at home and spectators in the venue to see the same footage being reviewed by the referees."
Launched following the 2024 ISU Congress, the ISU Short Track World Tour has quickly established itself as one of the sport's most successful new initiatives. Participation increased from 29 teams in its inaugural season to 41 teams last season, reflecting growing interest from athletes, Members and fans.
The ISU plans to continue expanding the Tour in the coming years to meet growing demand and further strengthen the global profile of Short Track.
ISU President stated: "The popularity of the Short Track World Tour has turbocharged the sport."
ISU President Jae Youl Kim highlighted the significant progress made in Safeguarding.
Over the past Olympic cycle, the ISU introduced the ISU Calm Zone programme, providing athletes with a dedicated space to reset, recharge and prepare mentally during intense competition times. The initiative was implemented at 14 ISU events last season, with around half of all competing athletes making use of the facility.
Recognising the growing challenges athletes face online, the ISU also launched Arwen, an AI-supported monitoring and moderation platform designed to help protect skaters from abuse and harassment on social media.
ISU President Jae Youl Kim highlighted a series of milestones that demonstrate the growing reach and appeal of skating. From a record 17 countries winning medals at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 to 408 million video views during the Olympic period and more than 127,000 spectators attending the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, the President pointed to strong momentum both on and off the ice. President Kim also highlighted the success of ISU development programmes, which supported 109 athletes competing at the Olympic Winter Games.
ISU President stated: "We had Incredibly successful Olympics last February, the Olympic skating podium was more global than ever, showcasing the sport's worldwide growth and competitive depth with record of 17 countries won medals across Figure Skating, Speed Skating and Short Track."
President Jae Youl Kim reported strong early results from the ISU's revised investment strategy. Since transferring USD 273 million to Cambridge Associates in September 2024, the portfolio has grown to USD 348 million as of April 2026.
Compared with the previous investment approach, the strategy has generated approximately USD 60 million in additional value, creating greater opportunities to invest in the future of skating.
As part of its plans for the next Olympic cycle, the ISU President Jae Youl Kim proposed doubling prize money from USD 5.4 million in 2025/26 to USD 11.1 million in 2026/27, with a further increase to USD 12 million in 2027/28. The ISU also proposed increasing travel contributions to Members from USD 2.4 million in 2025/26 to USD 4.5 million by 2027/28.
ISU Director General Colin Smith outlined how the ISU has transformed its internal operations over the past two years to support the ambitions of Vision 2030. The organisation has strengthened capabilities across key areas including marketing, PR/communications, legal, finance, athlete welfare, commercial, broadcast and events, while also moving into its new headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Colin Smith presented the ISU's new long-term event calendar strategy, which will begin with the 2027/28 season and provide greater visibility for Members, athletes, hosting countries and commercial partners. Key developments include the introduction of the new Figure Skating Grand Prix format featuring two Grand Prix semi-finals, the continued expansion of the ISU Short Track World Tour and a longer-term planning framework designed to create more opportunities for athletes to compete and for Members to host international events.
The ISU is currently undertaking a major commercial rights process covering media, sponsorship and licensing through a first-of-its-kind integrated approach. Colin Smith explained that the objective is to strike the right balance between commercial revenue and visibility, ensuring skating reaches the widest possible audience while creating new opportunities to invest in the sport. The strategy builds on recent investments in events, broadcast presentation and athlete visibility, with strong interest already shown from potential partners.
ISU President Jae Youl Kim announced a groundbreaking new event concept that will bring together four ISU World Championships and the ISU Skating Awards in Beijing, China, for the very first time in the organization’s history - bringing together all skating disciplines on one global stage (read full story here).
The ISU announcing the "Beijing28" new event concept bringing together World Championships across all skating disciplines in one single city, Beijing, in 2028 . © ISU
This announcement marks a major milestone for the ISU, with the concept first discussed by Members nearly a decade ago. President Kim described the event as the realization of a long-held ambition and an important step in the continued evolution of skating.
More details to be presented this afternoon.
The President outlined plans for the launch of Synchro9, a new format designed to make Synchronized Skating more accessible, dynamic and attractive to younger audiences and emerging skating nations. The format will debut next season and has already been included in the 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games programme (read more here).
ISU President Jae Youl Kim announced plans to establish a working group to explore new Speed Skating formats aimed at attracting expanded audiences and inspiring the next generation of athletes.
While reaffirming the importance of traditional Speed Skating events, President Kim said the ISU must continue to evolve and explore new opportunities for growth, including concepts such as pack racing.
ISU President Jae Youl Kim outlined plans to make Figure Skating rules and decisions easier for fans to understand while preserving the sport's technical complexity and integrity. He emphasized that no major structural changes will be introduced during the current Olympic cycle through 2030. Instead, the ISU will work on potential reforms for the following cycle, with any proposed changes expected to be developed, tested and announced by 2028 to give athletes and coaches sufficient time to prepare.
ISU President Jae Youl Kim outlined a new approach to the evaluation and appointment of Figure Skating judges, designed to strengthen confidence in judging and ensure athletes compete on a level playing field.
Developed in collaboration with Maelstrom, the system analyzes judging data from the past three seasons, including 84 competitions and more than 500 judges, to assess scoring accuracy, consistency and fairness. Beginning next season, the ISU will use the rankings to appoint judges for the World Championships, before expanding the approach to additional major events in future seasons.
To that end, ISU will hire two Head of Officials for each branch, Emilie Billow for Figure Skating and Nathalie Lambert for Speed Skating.
Looking ahead to the next Olympic cycle, ISU President Jae Youl Kim outlined how emerging technologies will play an increasing role in the development of skating. Through collaborations with Swiss Timing and Aiving (read more here), the ISU is exploring new tools to support officiating, athlete performance analysis and coaching, while continuing to enhance the overall experience for participants and fans.
Looking ahead to the next Olympic cycle, ISU President Jae Youl Kim outlined plans to further strengthen athlete welfare across the skating community. Building on the appointment of a full-time Head of Athlete Welfare and Sustainability, the ISU will focus on areas including mental health, athlete safety, career transition support, cyber safety and sustainability, with the aim of creating a more structured and long-term approach to athlete wellbeing.
ISU President Jae Youl Kim reiterated on ongoing efforts to address music rights. He confirmed that the ISU continues to treat the matter as a priority and is close to reach an agreement with a major label.
Concluding his report, acknowledged that change can be challenging, President Kim said the shared ambition remains clear: to increase skating's global fanbase, create new commercial opportunities and provide greater support for athletes and Members in the years ahead.
Delegates received the Financial Report presented by ISU Chief of Finance and Operation Jeremy Conrad-Pickles, reviewing the organisation's recent financial performance and future forecast. The ISU's revised investment strategy is delivering positive results, with the organisation's portfolio growing from USD 273 million to USD 348 million since late 2024. The additional value created through the new approach will provide greater opportunities to invest in athletes, Members, development programs and the continued growth of skating.
Delegates approved the updated financial forecasts and future budget plans, providing the framework for the next phase of investment and development under Vision 2030.
The morning session concluded following discussions focused on transformation, investment and the future direction of skating.