By Sandra Loosemore
CBS SportsLine Figure Skating Writer
Sept. 1, 1998

What's the difference between "professional" and "amateur" figure skating?

These days, not much.

In addition to the prize money and touring opportunities available to active competitors, this season the International Skating Union is starting a new career path -- a set of sanctioned pro-style competitions that will permit skaters such as Todd Eldredge and Ilia Kulik to retain ISU eligibility while competing and touring full time as pros.

Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic gold medalist, no longer participates in ISU-sanctioned pro events since the format change. (Allsport)

One of the problems facing the skating world is simply figuring out what terminology to use for these new competitions and the skaters who have chosen this new career path, and how to distinguish them from the ISU's standard competition track.

THE ISU HAS TERMED ITS NEW pro-style events "International Open" competitions. But these events are only "open" in the sense that they may include both eligible and ineligible skaters. They are not open in the sense that anyone can enter. On the contrary, these are strictly invitational events.

Some fans have been informally referring to these competitions as "pro-ams", but this is not accurate terminology because all of the participating skaters are professionals, regardless of whether they have retained their ISU eligibility.

In the old days, things were much simpler: only genuine amateurs were eligible to participate in competitions held by the ISU or United States Figure Skating Association. Receiving any financial benefit for skating, including actions as innocuous as pawning one's medals or trophies, would permanently disqualify an athlete as an amateur.

Over time, however, the rules regarding payment and eligibility were made less restrictive.

First, the USFSA changed its restrictions to permit skaters to earn money from shows and commercial endorsements -- provided that all of the earnings went into a USFSA-administered trust fund. The trust funds were later abolished, allowing skaters to be paid directly.

A separate program allowing high-level skaters to make money as teaching professionals subject to various restrictions has also been abolished, so that any skater may now coach without endangering his or her competitive eligibility.

IN LIGHT OF THESE CHANGES, VIRTUALLY all of the top "amateur" competitive skaters in the world are now, in fact, professionals who may make hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a year from their commercial activities.

The only real "amateurs" left in the sport are those skaters who have yet to win any medals or receive any touring or TV contracts.

The last remaining restriction on eligibility demands that skaters who participate in unsanctioned competitions permanently lose eligibility to compete in the ISU's Olympic-style competitions.

The ISU's monopoly over figure skating at the Olympic level is the reason for this restriction, as well as the organization's way of enforcing it. For example, the ISU would not be happy if a group of elite skaters split off, formed their own skaters' union, staged their own televised "world championships" to rival those held by the ISU, and tried to displace the ISU as the governing body for figure skating in the Olympics.

Banning skaters who participate in such unsanctioned competitions is the ISU's way of discouraging any serious challenge to its monopoly.

Before 1994, the ISU did not really see the pro competition circuit as a threat to its own domain. There were only a few of these events each year, which were more of a novelty than a serious way of earning a living as a skater.

When the ISU offered skaters who had previously lost their eligibility under the more restrictive amateur-status rules a chance to reinstate as eligible skaters, beginning in 1992, the pro competitions seemed in danger of dying out entirely.

BUT EVERYTHING CHANGED IN THE WAKE of the attack on Nancy Kerrigan in January 1994.

With interest in figure skating at an all-time high, both the number of pro competitions and the number of skaters participating on the pro circuit exploded. Nearly all the pros who had been reinstated for the 1994 Olympics once again gave up their eligibility in order to cash in on new opportunities.

The ISU's first reaction was to change the rules to prevent any more reinstatement of professionals. Some pro skaters still occasionally talk about wanting to reinstate again, but it's not likely that the ISU will change its rules to accommodate them. Instead, the ISU's current policy is directed at giving competitors incentives to retain their eligibility.

But because it is now apparent that there is money to be made from pro-style skating and an organized pro skating circuit could pose a threat to the ISU's control of the sport, the ISU is now attempting to expand its umbrella to include pro-style events as well as its existing Olympic-style skating competitions.

This is where the new set of sanctioned pro competitions comes into the picture. There have already been a handful of these events in the past few seasons, such as the Ultimate Four and Japan Open. This year, there might be up to nine of them, providing an alternative to the old-style pro competitions for the skaters who might otherwise have given up their eligibility after the Olympic season.

THERE ARE GOOD AND BAD THINGS about the direction the sport is taking. Perhaps the best thing to come out of this is that there might finally be some respectability brought to the pro circuit.

In the past, the format and rules for pro events depended on what skaters and promoters could negotiate for each event. There have been instances where skaters have negotiated rules changes that would work in their favor, and instances where fans have been suspicious that entire competitions were rigged to showcase skaters who had a financial arrangement with the event's promoter or commercial sponsor.

Other events used gimmicks such as celebrity judges or audience participation, which gave the entire pro circuit a cheesy reputation.

In contrast, the ISU has established a definite set of rules for their sanctioned pro events. The competitors will skate a regular short program with the same requirements and judging that apply to normal Olympic-style competitions and an "interpretive free skate." The free skate will be similar to a regular Olympic-style free skating program but with restrictions on the number of jumps and more emphasis placed on other skating skills and the skaters' use of music.

But there are negative aspects, too. Some people in the sport are concerned because so much control over skating is now being concentrated in the ISU and its marketing partner, IMG. Control is systematically being taken away from individual skaters.

IT IT WORRISOME, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT the ISU insists top-ranked active competitors participate in so many made-for-TV events each year simply to protect the value of the ISU's TV contracts. It's doubtful that it's in the long-term interest, or even the short-term interest, of the skaters to tire themselves out in this way.

Another worry is that the new sanctioned pro competition circuit might draw off the best skaters from the ISU's regular competition track, causing a loss of prestige or marketability for the events that are the ISU's primary reason for existence. Already a number of top skaters, including Michelle Kwan, have declined to participate in the ISU's regular-track Grand Prix series of competitions.

Finally, because several of the old-style pro competitions are being converted to the ISU's new format, there will be fewer options for skaters who prefer to follow the traditional pro career path. Brian Boitano, for example, has announced he does not intend to participate in any of the pro events being conducted under the ISU's sanction.

Boitano is known to have had long-standing differences with the ISU, but an additional factor is probably discouraging many older pros from participating in the new events. These older skaters realize that they can hardly compete with younger skaters under rules that require all competitors to skate an ISU-regulation short program judged by current standards.