En pointe, sur la glace!

Bringing a new meaning to "ballet on ice", Darlene Gilbert skates "en pointe" on blades of her own invention!

My first thought: you can't jump on that!
My second thought: won't your toes hurt?? (ok, so you can tell I'm not a ballerina)

ISU 54th Ordinary Congress Decisions

ISU has put up a report on the 54th Ordinary Congress

Relevant to figure skating is the section for Single and Pair Skating and Ice Dance.

• The minimum age requirement in the Figure Branch has been changed to 15 which now includes all Senior International Competitions and not only ISU Championships and Olympic Winter Games. This change is effective starting in the season 2014/15. Minor adjustments have also been made in the Novice and Junior age categories.
• The Single and Pair Skating and Ice Dance Technical Committees proposed several changes to make the Special Regulations and Technical Rules consistent across the disciplines, this harmonization of the rules were unanimously approved by Congress.
• An additional Base Value has been introduced, the Base Value now ranges from level 0 to 4.
• As of the season 2014/15, vocal music can be used in Single and Pair Skating.
• Congress passed a change to remove the preliminary rounds at ISU Figure Skating Championships which will impact the time schedule starting with next season’s ISU Championships.
• In line with ISU Championships 16 Pair Skaters and 20 Ice Dance Couples will qualify for the Free Program at the Olympic Winter Games.
• The introduction of an examination for ISU Referees and International Judges and Referees was voted in by Congress.

Singapore National Games

Ok, this has nothing to do with figure skating (at least for now)... but I received information about the 2012 Singapore National Games:

2012 marks the first year the Singapore National Games will be held. This is a sporting event open to everyone living in Singapore to participate and represent their community. The Games will be held every two years, and will be a unique event in Singapore’s sports calendar.

Official website: http://www.singaporenationalgames.sg/