Skaters were puzzled by ethics: a blade in a decent society with an impeccable reputation

When an organization adopts a code of ethics, of course, it’s “buzz” – for a reason.” And now everyone is well aware: figure skating is not only talents, strength and beauty, but also a showdown. On the ice – of course, and outside it – as it turns out, but often with the best intellectual forces within the sport. There are already many masterpiece quotes from skirmishes. The list is replenished right now, when the Olympic champions Yagudin and Plushenko clashed again, heavy artillery in the faces of Tatyana Tarasova and Yana Rudkovskaya – of course. Added to this is the extremism of fans in social networks, who always see something of their own in ordinary events, painfully (aka dirt) native.

Why this code appeared is understandable. Everyone wants to stop the bacchanalia around figure skating, and not only the federation. Although, in fairness, the initiators of scandals are either those on whom the FFKKR can no longer exert any influence, or “downed pilots”. It is they who, having left the big ice, suddenly decide to talk about how hard it was for them to live in this world of restrictions and cruelty.

The Code has been published, and violations of the rules will be under the control of the Ethics Commission. Punishments are also named: a warning, a public apology, a fine, annulment of the result of the competition and disqualification for the skater. There are also penalties for coaches and judges: from a ban on holding leadership positions in the FFKKR system to a ban on attending events held under the auspices of the federation. In case of violation of the terms of the confidentiality agreement through the fault of a person who has gained access to certain information, there is a fine of 100 thousand rubles.

We will not analyze each paragraph of the Code. It is obvious that its compilers decided to provide for everything at once. Words were not saved. And, probably, it is not worthwhile to sarcastically analyze the words that “all persons who make up the Professional Community of Football Club should be a model of professionalism and impeccable reputation, contribute to the formation of a favorable moral and psychological climate.” You have to start with something. True, the community is within society, so the ideal model of relations on a single ice does not work.

But everyone asked for more ethics in figure skating, and the Code was born. In principle, what happened as a result is a set of all the rules that are accepted in a decent society and meet corporate ethics. And it would not have sounded in the assessments with a negative connotation, if, firstly, it had not been so long and chewing on elementary things (which always looks stupid, even if it is a recommendation to brush your teeth before going to bed). And secondly, very controversial in matters of openness.

Right off the bat – about “don’t talk too much”, since this concerns the dissemination of information that is always discussed in figure skating: for example, who and where will perform, when, with whom they will compete. Before the start, of course, after there are already other topics. Inside, and often it is the same – the usual assumptions based on logic – was, is and will be. We all live in the same world.

Insider information in the Code of Ethics includes: the content of correspondence, telephone conversations; information on the preparation, adoption and execution of individual decisions by the leadership of the FFKKR on organizational, medical, judicial, scientific, technical and other issues; lists of candidates for the national teams of Russia for participation in official competitions before their official publication on the FFKKR website; a draft of a unified calendar plan, the composition of referee teams … Even the content of individual training plans for athletes, information about the facts of the conduct, goals, subject and results of meetings and meetings of the FFKKR management bodies, and all this before the official publication on the site.

Is it really all a secret? Figure skating is not a space production. Even if it has its own Rockets. However, if some rules from the Code were released as recommendations for athletes, especially young ones, no one would particularly react (although a few points from the blissful series of how to behave are still knocked out). But now it is not very clear who they are created for? Coaches, and even more so judges, have their own employment contracts, their own rules of conduct, and their own supervision. And our skaters themselves are still not random people on the ice, why not trust them to such an extent? Another thing is if there is a conflict, then it must be considered so that there are conclusions, and, if necessary, punishment.

Both with and without the Code, issues for which there are no legal documents to challenge will remain issues. The Code, for example, includes a clause stating that a coach who wants to take someone’s athlete must call the current coach of that athlete. This is just from the category of the same life ethics, which is obvious, but, you yourself understand … And, since the skaters do not have a contract system, you can always nod in this direction. And then, why would this conditional Plushenko begin to call the conditional Tutberidze (or vice versa), if the athlete came with a proposal to transfer himself?

From the ideal model of life, apparently, a point has also grown that the athlete is called upon to “keep his composure in case of a loss, with dignity paying tribute to the victory and skill of the opponent.” Now I’ll open America right now: what happened at the Beijing Olympics after the announcement of the results in women’s single skating is not an isolated case of a winner’s tantrum in sports after a loss. Athletes cried, screamed and blamed someone after losing a dream before, and will continue to do so in the future. Because losing is painful. And she can’t always be silent. And Trusova was very unlucky that those who were nearby and made a video of her despair immediately put it all on the net. (Apparently, they did not have a written code of ethics. But this is also the current fast-paced life, everything becomes known at lightning speed.)

There is a very dubious prohibition in the paragraphs of the Code: to refrain from public speaking, including in the media, during the competition, unless otherwise agreed with the FFKKR press officer. The job of a reporter is often a well-planned accident: to be on time where information can be obtained. And official press conferences or a mass gathering of voice recorders in the mixed zone in front of the athletes is far from the ultimate dream of journalists, rather, a dull necessity out of desperation.

Yes, and I don’t remember a case when one of the skaters set something on fire precisely during the starts. The most important conflicts happened outside the competition, and not in person, but in absentia: in interviews or social networks. The last high-profile scandal happened after the figure skater Elizaveta Nugumanova accused her coaching group of humiliation, harassment and threats.

And, frankly, the entire published code could now block the investigation of these accusations (by the way, without the evidence promised by the skater). A lot of accusatory words were said. And there are no official conclusions, except that they did not see in St. Petersburg “a situation that the St. Petersburg federation should have investigated,” no.

Also, as follows from the section “Peculiarities of Athletes’ Professional Ethics”, a skater must “refrain from negative public statements, judgments and assessments of the performance of opponents during the competition; do not answer hypothetical questions (“what if…?” etc.). Here, to be honest, the last point – it became directly ridiculous. I wonder how he was even born?

In general, one should not exaggerate the published prohibitions and recommendations. Some of them are quite real and vital. Both athletes and specialists know them. There’s nothing more to dramatize. And I don’t think that the alleged punishments will silence all athletes without exception, after which figure skating fans will find themselves in an information vacuum under the motto “no comment”. Who said what he considers necessary, he will speak. There was no Code of Ethics, now there is. Let it go. Only fanaticism in any business is evil.