Skate Canada has rewritten its policy that specifies ice dance and pairs team must comprise a man and a woman, a rule change that has Canadian ice dancer Kaitlyn Weaver and two-time Olympic ice dance champion Scott Moir as its biggest advocates — and could revolutionize the stuffy figure skating world.
Canada's Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje perform their ice dance free dance during the ISU World Team Trophy Figure Skating competition, April 12, 2019, in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan.
"There's so many different ways that it can impact young people," Weaver said. "But as an ice dancer, and especially as a queer person growing up that didn't know she was queer, seeing different stories represented and different partnering, different types of identities on the ice, would have been very liberating for me."As of next season, pairs and ice dance skaters — up to the Canadian championships, but not beyond — need only be two skaters.
Moir and partner Tessa Virtue became the most decorated ice dancers in history when they won Olympic gold in 2018. The 35-year-old Moir now coaches the Ice Academy of Montreal's satellite program in London, Ont., and said, because there are far more female skaters than male, removing the gender stipulation could have a huge impact on keeping girls and women in the sport.
"And what is the advantage? If traditionalists think that two women can't do lifts, I'm eager to prove them wrong. Or two men together can't be graceful in this era, I'm eager to prove them wrong. Because I don't believe that. I see an even playing field and a fantastic opportunity to get more people involved in figure skating. And that's always something I'm passionate about.
News that artistic swimming would now permit two male swimmers per team in the team event caused an uproar recently.
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