Ari Zakarian: “The treatment of Malinin was a real fiasco. ISU sends a clear message: slow down on the difficult elements, no need to set records, just skate beautifully. Feel like you’re just ice ballerinas. Or ballerinos.
Interview with Ari Zakarian after the Grand Prix Final.
original source: Championat 9th December by Russtam Imamov
In a conversation with “Championat,” sports agent Ari Zakarian came to a disheartening conclusion: the current policy of the ISU, aimed at artificially halting the progress of the sport, will lead to a loss of viewer interest and, consequently, the decline of the industry. Here’s a translation of his comments.
“Q: What did you think of the atmosphere in Grenoble? From the broadcast, it seemed like there might be issues with viewer interest.
Ari Zakarian: For the men’s free programs, all tickets were definitely sold. There were some issues on other days. However, it’s inaccurate to say that things were entirely negative. But overall, I have serious concerns, of course, about the marketing work and how things are managed in our sport. It’s very difficult to get through to people so they understand what needs to be done for its development. We are where we are.
Q: Do the old-guard at the ISU resonate with any of your ideas?
Ari Zakarian: Unfortunately, it’s a very stodgy organization. Very frustrating things are happening — especially yesterday’s men’s performances. The treatment of Malinin was a real fiasco. It was a shock for me and for most fans.
Q: Malinin put on a show, and they seem to have told him, essentially, to stay quiet and not stick out. Is that how you see it?
Ari Zakarian: That’s practically what they told him, exactly. Ilia probably set a record in figure skating history — he received an under-rotation call on each of his jumps. If we look at some competitions that happened four years ago with famous champions, we should see under-rotations there too, if we scrutinized every jump. Clean 100% jumps are almost non-existent now. And if you look hard enough, you can find an under-rotation on almost any of them.
Q: This particularly concerns the women’s quadruples — there have been regular discussions about them not being technically perfect in terms of rotation.
Ari Zakarian: Exactly. So let’s start reevaluating the results of all competitions now. There are people whose anatomy contributes to their jumps appearing under-rotated. That will always be the case, no matter how hard they try; there will always be a partial under-rotation. It’s sad to see such attitudes towards athletes. Everything happening in our sport sends a clear message to the athletes: slow down on the difficult elements, no need to set records, just skate beautifully. Feel like you’re just ice ballerinas. Or ballerinos, for that matter.
Q: You can see this in the scores scale, too. No one plans to increase the value of a quadruple axel. They’ve set such ridiculous standards that no one will even attempt it. Is this all a deliberate policy of the ISU?
Ari Zakarian: Of course. It means they’re sending a clear message to everyone: stop playing with all the technical intricacies. Wrap up the innovation and just focus on beautiful figure skating. We want to see lovely programs; we don’t want anything complex or record-breaking. In my opinion, all this is being lobbied by a small clique of people, while the whole planet wants to see quadruples and records. But they’re being silenced, and it’s deeply frustrating.
Q: Do you feel relying on artistry is an excuse for even more manipulation with scores? If technique is visible even to amateurs and can be objectively assessed, everything about the aesthetics of the performance leaves vast room for speculation…
Ari Zakarian: Absolutely. It’s like you go to a museum, you like the painting “Black Square”, and you call it a masterpiece, even though it’s just a simple square. Someone else may paint something intricate and elaborate, but it’s not valued. So then, it’s no longer a sport. We first need to decide: is this a sport or the arts? The emphasis is clearly not on the sport.
Q: Even an American judge gave Malinin a low score for his free skate. Were you surprised?
Ari Zakarian: Unfortunately, nothing in this sport surprises me anymore. After the competition that night, I had numerous calls from various important people, Olympic and world champions. For all of them, it was a swindle. They don’t understand what to do next, where to move. Yesterday’s performance by Ilia was a clear signal for everyone to stop and give up working. Everything you do, guys, is wrong. We need something different but we don’t know exactly what. That’s the message we got from the judges.
Q: Malinin seems to be the only skater currently who can draw a crowd — otherwise, the sport has become faceless. Doesn’t the ISU realize that he shouldn’t be lost?
Ari Zakarian: They don’t realize it. Look at the audience’s reaction when Malinin finished hos program: everyone was on their feet applauding. The audience perceived his performance as sensational, something incredible, historic. Yet in the end, it turns out that we were all deceived. No other skaters received such response. Ilia thrilled the crowd, but the judges decided to ruin it. In the end, I saw fans leaving the arena confused. They didn’t understand what happened or why the scores were what they were. I think they might not come to a figure skating competition again.
We need to do everything possible to push the sport forward. Certainly, it’s very important for people to skate beautifully, to extend their legs. But we live in different times now. A person can lie at home on their couch and watch any dance from any part of the planet. And there it will be — you name it — the quintuple jump, standing on their head. We need to create a competitive product. Why should they go to a figure skating event? Drive somewhere, find a parking spot, when they can just stay home doing nothing. We need to offer a sense of excitement, but instead, they’re taking that away from people.
Q: Could the current situation have affected Malinin? Or will he continue his technical development, including attempting up to seven quadruple jumps?
Ari Zakarian: Ilia is a gifted individual, a true athlete. I’m sure he was upset. Of course, there were mistakes, but they weren’t grave enough to justify completely annihilating him. Executing a four-and-a-half rotation jump depletes a tremendous amount of physical energy. It’s an element equivalent to leaping into space, the stratosphere. And amid that, you’re also supposed to remember where your house keys are.
These things are incomparable. Everyone knows he’s doing things unheard of in this sport, and I’m saying this not just because I represent him. It pains me for the next generation of athletes in general. Take any serious ice rink in the world that focuses on results. People spend 80% of their time practicing jumps. But now, there’s an emerging realization that it might be more beneficial to spend 80% on skating skills and only 20% on jumps. Where this will lead us, nobody knows. But the disappointment is significant for now.
Q: So instead of producing more Malinins, are we going to manufacture new Jason Browns?
Ari Zakarian: It’s hard to say, Jason is talented in his way too. But we need to think about where we are taking this sport. How we will attract sponsors. How the sports component will be constructed and why serious business should invest money into it. We need to understand who our target audience is.
The figure skating audience is 40+. Soon, it will be 50+, 60+, and gradually, viewers will simply start dying out. The younger generation isn’t interested. People are creating TikToks, standing over abysses, doing flips at the edge of cliffs; they are driven by adrenaline, emotion… And here, everything is happening in reverse.
Q: At the World Championships in Boston, will there be chances to see Malinin attempt seven quads again?
Ari Zakarian: We don’t know, but judging from how the technical panel reacted in Grenoble… When they tell him: “Boy, stop fooling around, stop pushing this sport forward. Just do a few triples, a few quads, and you will score far more points than if you try to be a pioneer.” Don’t show off, roll back, play by the rules – then we will reward you.
Imagine Usain Bolt ran the 100 meters but with an untied shoelace. He still won, even with the untied shoelace, but the judges say: “No, because of the shoelace, we won’t count your victory.” I exaggerate, of course, but you get the idea.
Q: Malinin, like Usain Bolt once and now Armand Duplantis, tries to understand the limits of human capabilities, right?
Ari Zakarian: Absolutely, he finds this intriguing. He wants to demonstrate what the human body is capable of on ice. He is doing things that, a hundred years from now, will be remembered as pioneering, as a historic milestone. That’s his motivation, it drives him. But what we have… I’m deeply disappointed. I’m trying to understand where we are heading and why.
Q: Did this strongly impact your overall impression of the Grand Prix Final?
Ari Zakarian: Personally, yes. I believe that this sport should be one where children spend their lives, parents spend all their money, and get divorced, move to other cities in pursuit of results… But for what? So that he can earn, conditionally, $100,000 or $200,000? I won’t name names, but that’s the ceiling for the top athlete now. These sums should be a nice bonus, a dinner treat for everyone involved in your victory at a specific event. Compared to other sports — figure skaters are very poor.
I’m not even talking about football and hockey, where interests and finances are completely different… Figure skating, although not on the same scale, can also be in demand. Like it was in the 1990s, when athletes earned six-figure sums. About 20 athletes per season could earn a six-figure check and live comfortably. The sport was thriving. To kill this sport, to throw it into such an abyss – someone had to really try…
Sometimes I check social media: an 11-year-old kid performs a jump, a 12-year-old does another, and a 13-year-old has an incredible combo. People watch, boast, rejoice. But wake up: it turns out, nobody needs all this. What should they do now? Stop developing technically at 11 and practice ballet all day? One hour for spins, half an hour for some jumps. Apparently, this is how they want to see figure skating now. It pains me for the future generations.
Q: Perhaps you are closer to the Russian approach? In Russia, more boys are performing a large number of quads, and they receive high scores despite potential issues in the second mark.
Ari Zakarian: Of course, I follow Russian events. I try to keep track of all competitions. Honestly, I find it interesting to follow. How everything is organized, the presenters, the design of the starts, the dynamics, the competition. All is interesting and commendable.”
Related topics: Ari Zakarian, Ilia Malinin
Ari needs to keep his mouth shut. First, he’s wrong. Ilia was judged strictly but fairly. The technical panel was tough on every skater. (Just ask Kaori Sakamoto who welcomed the stricter judging.) Second, Ilia still WON and there’s nothing worse than a “sore” winner. I just hope Ari’s big mouth doesn’t hurt Ilia’s image. He seems like a nice and humble young man.
I disagree with art. The ridiculous jumps and expectations is what is killing the sport. It’s making impossible for the norm to be successful so they are the ones that think why bother and quit. If we are to see the sport grow, we do need to focus on the beauty and artistic and slow down this quest for the most rotations. It’s killing our young athletes bodies just for them to break and quit because it is unachievable to the masses. The jumps are killing the sport!!!