U.S. Figure Skating Receives Response on Protest
(3/27/04) — In a letter to U.S. Figure Skating team personnel Saturday morning, the referees for the ladies short program at the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships rejected the U.S. Figure Skating protest regarding the timing deduction of Michelle Kwan's short program Friday afternoon.
U.S. Figure Skating had filed a protest regarding the timing deduction, seeking to confirm that the timing of the performance was accurate. U.S. Team leaders had been notified Friday that Kwan had received a deduction because her program was over the time limit.
In the letter received Saturday, signed by referee Jan Hoffmann and assistant referee Ubavka Novakovic-Kutinou, the protest was denied after records of the performance were checked. The deduction was based on the following regulations:
According to ISU Special Regulations Figure Skating 2002, Rule 305, ''The time must be reckoned from the moment the skater begins to move or to skate until arriving at a complete stop at the end of the program''
Paragragh b: if competitor fails to finish the short program within the time limit, there should be a 0.1 deduction in the marks for required elements and presentation for up to every 10 seconds in excess. The timekeepers must inform the referees who must then advise the judges of the number of seconds in excess.''
According to the letter, the skating time of Michelle Kwan's program from the first movment to the complete stop was 2:42. This was the time on the stopwatch of three persons — official timekeeper, Wige data operator (the ISU's technical information/scoring service), and the referee. The allotted time for the short program is 2:40.
Hoffmann's letter also clarifies that the referee does not take deductions but advises the judges of the number of seconds in excess (in accordance with Rule 305). The letter also says that both referees in the ladies short program advised judges about the number of seconds in excess, and in the case of Michelle Kwan, it was two seconds. Deductions (if taken) are taken by judges in accordance with applicable rules.
U.S. Figure Skating President Chuck Foster said, ''U.S. Figure Skating has received the results of the inquiry, and we accept their finding. We thank the ISU for handling this issue. It is incumbent upon us to support all our athletes. That is our mission.''
