NEW YORK — The International Skating Union voted Tuesday to raise the minimum age limit for figure skating competition to 17, to be phased in between now and the next Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
The ruling, approved in a 110-16 vote, stems partly from the doping scandal that enveloped 15-year-old Russian national champion Kamila Valieva at this year’s Beijing Games. But it was also enacted to give skaters time to build up resiliency, “for the sake of protecting the physical and mental health, and emotional well-being of the skaters.”
The decision applies to all skating-related sports, including speed skating, short-track speedskating and synchronized skating, the Olympic Committee said in a statement after the ISU approved the proposed changes at its biennial meeting being held in Phuket, Thailand.
