Figure Ice Skating

• 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.
The age requirements have faced criticism. During the 2005–2006 season, Mao Asada was age-eligible to compete at the Grand Prix Final, where she claimed the title, but she was not permitted to compete at the Olympics. The United States was forced to send to the 2008 World Championships skaters who had placed 5th and 7th at nationals because Mirai Nagasu and Rachael Flatt were too young. Flatt missed the cutoff by three weeks and Russian champion Adelina Sotnikova missed it by a few hours. The ISU has strictly enforced the rules in recent years, but in the past exceptions were made, such as to allow Natasha Kuchiki to compete at the 1990 World Figure Skating Championships when she was two years too young.
As in gymnastics, skating has experienced controversy surrounding possible age falsification. On February 14, 2011, questions emerged surrounding nine Chinese skaters. The Associated Press found that birthdates listed on the Chinese skating association's website suggested five female skaters, Sui Wenjing, Zhang Dan, Yu Xiaoyu, Geng Bingwa, and Xu Binshu, were younger than their stated ages, and four male skaters, Han Cong, Zhang Hao, Jin Yang, and Gao Yu, were older. The dates disappeared from the website by February 15. On February 17, the ISU said there were no discrepancies for Zhang Dan, Zhang Hao, and Xu Binshu between the birthdates listed on their passports, ISU registration forms and the Chinese Olympic Committee's website. Athletes in China sometimes face pressure to falsify their age.