Figure Ice Skating

Eligibility
• Age eligibility
The International Skating Union has imposed minimum age requirements on skaters which have changed from time to time. The current requirements were set in 1996. In order to compete at Worlds, Europeans, Four Continents or the Olympics, skaters must be 15 before July 1 of the preceding year, while for other senior international competitions, skaters must have turned 14. To be eligible for junior-level events, a skater must be 13 but cannot have turned 19 before July 1. Male pair skaters and ice dancers cannot have turned 21. The ISU's rules apply to international events. Many countries have no age requirements for domestic non-ISU competitions, thus, some skaters compete at the senior level nationally while not eligible for international competition. A skater must meet the age requirement before it becomes July 1 in their place of birth. For example, Adelina Sotnikova was born a few hours into July 1, 1996 in Moscow and consequently, was not eligible to compete at Junior Worlds until 2011 and senior Worlds until 2013.