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News and Reviews
Cracked Ice, by Sonia Bianchetti Garbato
Reviewed by George Rossano
The activities at the ISU following the 2002 Olympic Winter Games
cast a light on the political intrigues of that organization as never
before. The turmoil and infighting within the ISU associated
with the handling of the Olympic judging scandal, the development of
the new judging system, the boisterous 2002 Congress, the formation of
the World Skating Federation and the case against the ISU at the Court
of Arbitration for Sport were all newsworthy items that captured the
attention of the skating community world-wide. For all the juicy
tidbits that appeared in the open, however, one suspected that many
more were left waiting to be disclosed. Indeed, the history of
the ISU is the history of an organization where politics and
infighting have reigned supreme from its earliest days. Where
else but the ISU, for example, could the distinguished president of an
organization run unopposed for reelection, and lose!
Following the 2002 Congress it seemed that the time was right for a
book with the inside story on the history and politics of the ISU,
instead of the usual superficial pabulum. It would be a
fascinating read, but would anyone within the ISU talk honestly to
someone who tried to write such a book? As it turns out, someone
has.
Sonia Bianchetti, one of the ultimate ISU insiders, has not only
been willing to talk, she has written the book herself. In
"Cracked Ice" Bianchetti details her firsthand experiences
inside the ISU during a career that spanned nearly 40 years -- a
career that began as an ISU judge in 1964 and ended when she left the
ISU Council in 1992. In it she details the financial scandals,
the judging scandals and the political scandals that have plagued the
ISU.
"Cracked Ice" is more than just a tell-all book about the
politics of the ISU. It is also a history book that details the
development of the sport from an activity where competition was
dominated by compulsory figures to its current form as the ultimate
blend of athleticism and artistic expression. During this
transformation, Bianchetti played a lead role, first as member
of the Figure Skating Technical Committee, and later as its
chairman. Bianchetti provides a lively narrative that describes
the decline in the importance of figures, the development of the short
programs in singles and pairs, and finally the complete elimination of
figures after 1990.
During her time on the Technical Committee, Bianchetti was also a
driving force behind the development of education and training
programs for judges, and in the battle against national bias and block
judging in competition. Her influence in the training of judges
is felt around the world, even today. Her battle against judging
misconduct had many successes, even resulting in the suspension of the
entire Soviet Federation for one year in 1978. But victory here was
not complete, and so "Cracked Ice" is also a book about
disappointments. One of these is the current ISU approach to
judging ethics and accountability, or rather the lack of a zealous and
open pursuit of it -- a problem she lays squarely at the feet of the
current ISU management.
Upon election to the Council in 1988, Bianchetti took on the battle
for ethics and accountability in the operation of the ISU with the
same zeal she fought for ethics and accountability while on the
Technical Committee. Here she made little progress, and by
coming into conflict with the entrenched interest groups within the
ISU paid the ultimate political price, losing her position as an ISU
officeholder. She tells this part of the story not with
bitterness, but with a great sense of sadness at the direction taken
by the ISU and figure skating in the past ten years, a direction she
feels has harmed (and is harming) a sport she loves. For indeed,
"Cracked Ice" is also a book about a love of figure
skating. A love that began as a 6-year-old at the outbreak of
World War II and continues to this day.
"Cracked Ice" is not just historical facts and political
commentary. Throughout it, Bianchetti enlivens the story with
never told anecdotes about the competitions where she was an official
and with pointed descriptions of the sport's colorful personalities
she has known through the years; be they skaters, coaches or ISU
officials who have affected the destiny of the sport -- some for
better in her view and some for worse. The pictures she paints
of Olaf Poulsen, Lawrence Demmy and Ottavio Cinquanta are particularly
telling, as is her take on the Olympic judging scandal of 2002 and its
aftermath -- described with all the drama of a classic Greek
tragedy.
During her time as an ISU judge and referee, Bianchetti had the
reputation of being a "dragon lady." What is clear
from this book, however, is that beneath the surface she was, and is,
motivated by a great love of skating and skaters. That love led
her to push for important changes in the sport and in the operation of
the ISU. In the end she was more successful in seeking change than
most within the ISU, but not as successful as the sport needed her to
be.
Copyright 2004 by George S. Rossano; reprinted with permission
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