Dear members,

Last week Ice Skating Australia announced an online national event that would serve as the last benchmark event for the year. The event will be held virtually in December. Each state association is permitted to nominate up to four athletes from each of the included divisions. Athletes must be nominated by their state in order to take part.

Ice Skating Australia President Peter Lynch wanted to make clear to all Australian athletes that "this [event] is not the Australian Figure Skating Championships, and no championship titles will be awarded".

He also said "the ISA Board has not resolved the mechanism for selection to any international event – in particular for Junior Worlds, Senior Worlds – in synchronized/singles/pairs/dance".

In September, Ice Skating VIctoria decided that before any Victorian athlete competes at an event, either virtual or in person, there should be a minimum of two months back on the ice to ensure a safe return to the sport and to mitigate the risks of injury.

This decision will be maintained for the online national event, meaning any skater wishing to attend the event must have been back on the ice training since Sunday 1 October 2020.

To be eligible for selection, athletes must:

• Be a member of Ice Skating Victoria and a club for the 2020 membership year
• Have been back training since 1 October 2020 (a minimum of 2 months)
• Comply with their local jurisdictions COVID Safe plans or equivalent when filming their program/s.
• Coordinate the recording of their program/s. This can be done by participating in another states athlete filming session (any associated costs to be paid directly by the athlete), or by arranging empty ice and having an Ice Skating Victoria official witness the performance via a video call or in person. If an athlete requires an ISV official, they must email [email protected].
• Complete a photo/video release form.
• Submit their video/PPC as per the requirements on the announcement
• Complete the Ice Skating Victoria Athlete Declaration form stating they have been training for a minimum of two months and have conducted the filming of their program/s inline with the COVID Safe plans or equivalent from their duritiction. The form is available on the Ice Skating Victoria website.

Requests for inclusion in the event must be received by 5pm, Sunday 8 November to [email protected]. If more than four athletes nominate for the same division, the top four will be selected based on the 2020 ISV rankings. Qualification scores are not applicable for this event.

• Full event information: https://iceskatingvictoria.org.au/events

This week we have seen the announcement that IceHQ will be reopening on Monday 9 November. O'Brien Icehouse is currently working on their reopen plan and will be communicating out to the community in the coming week. Olympic Ice Arena has been able to resume work on their renovations, and we look forward to seeing the rink reopen in the near future.

In preparation for rinks re-opening, the Ice Skating Victoria Return to Play Plan will be reviewed to ensure it meets current Victorian Government requirements. An update on this will be distributed before Monday 9 November.

Ice Skating Victoria is committed to providing opportunities to our members to get figure skating restarted in Victoria. This past month we have received funding that will be able to be utilised once the rinks have reopened.

We look forward to seeing you back on the ice soon.

Kind regards,

Andrew Taylor
President
Ice Skating Victoria