Skate Fans for Accountability and ISU Reform (SkateFAIR) is an organization of figure skating fans that has come together to protest recent actions of the International Skating Union leadership and the general indifference of that leadership to the future of the sport.

Most dramatically since the Salt Lake City Olympics, the ISU has taken actions that undermine the credibility of figure skating by failing to truly address the fundamental ethical problems plaguing the sport. Under President Ottavio Cinquanta, judging misconduct has been trivialized repeatedly, with even the most serious infractions punished with mere slaps on the wrist. Furthermore, the new Code of Points judging system, as implemented by the ISU for major events such as the World Championships and Olympic Games, has shrouded the entire sport in secrecy, making corruption virtually impossible to detect. Even more alarmingly, those within the ISU who have dared to speak out against the secrecy have been systematically punished and ousted from positions of influence.

On numerous occasions, President Cinquanta has stated that these changes have been put into place for the good of the public as well as the skaters. SkateFAIR has come together to give the public a voice against the corruption and secrecy of the ISU. SkateFAIR's mission is to give all skaters the opportunity to compete under a fair and accountable system. We have identified three specific areas of reform necessary to achieve this goal.

• We call for public accountability of the judges' marks and an end to secrecy throughout the judging process in all ISU competitions. Openness and accountability are the only ways to inspire confidence in the judges' marks. A secret scoring system reinforces the belief that the ISU is trying to hide, rather than correct, problems with judging misconduct. Any and all scoring systems, including the present system, should undergo comprehensive testing and evaluation by neutral, qualified third parties appointed by the Technical Committee rather than the President.
• We call for ISU leadership that will publicly dedicate itself to identifying and correcting ethical improprieties within the sport. Although the ISU ostensibly adopted a Code of Ethics in 2003, we have yet to see that code seriously applied. President Cinquanta and other senior ISU officials have continued to demonstrate a reckless disregard for issues of credibility and integrity in managing the sport. This includes a so-called investigation into the judging improprieties at Salt Lake City that was neither comprehensive nor open. The scoring system has been blamed for--and overhauled as a result of--problems related to the ethics and accountability of individual judges. Cinquanta's "reforms" not only fail to address the problems at hand, but also introduce serious consequences that have not been adequately considered.
• Finally, we call for the ISU to:
  
  
  1. implement an established code of ethics for judges and officials that mitigates conflicts of interest and rewards rather than punishes whistleblowers;
  2. institute strict adherence to penalties for violators with full transparency to the public;
  3. impose lifetime bans for those guilty of infractions that compromise the integrity of the sport.
  
  In recent years, judges who have confessed to conspiring to fix events, or who have been caught on tape engaging in misconduct, have received paltry penalties ranging from six-month to three-year suspensions. At the same time, those who have been brave enough to bring them to the public have been punished and ostracized. We maintain that there is no place for corrupt judges in the sport of figure skating and assert that a zero-tolerance policy against cheating judges must be instituted and enforced.

It is important to note that SkateFAIR does not take a position regarding individual judging decisions or individual judges beyond those who have already been proven or will be proven guilty of misconduct. Our goal is a fair and accountable system for skaters from all countries, as well as for all judges and officials.