David Dore, the former director-general of Skate Canada, will run for a spot on the executive council of the International Skating Union in elections next month in Kyoto, Japan, The Globe and Mail has learned.
Yesterday, eight members of the management committee of Skate Canada informed its board of directors that the committee will offer up Dore's name for the powerful six-member council of the ISU, rocked recently by judging scandals.
It also proposed three other names to run for key ISU posts: Benoît Lavoie, best known as the Canadian pairs judge at the Salt Lake Olympic Games, for figure skating's technical committee, which oversees men's and women's singles and pairs; long-time Canadian judge and referee Jack Greenwood for dancing's technical committee; and Joanne Shaw for synchronized skating's technical committee.
Dore took the skating world by surprise when he resigned his post as Skate Canada's director-general only eight days before the Salt Lake Olympics. At the time, he said he hadn't considered running for council and didn't want any bigger responsibilities than what he already had with the ISU, preferring just to organize specific projects.
"Post-Salt Lake City, everything has changed," Pam Coburn, the chief executive officer of Skate Canada, said yesterday. "Skate Canada has put forth the candidates that can drive the change that is needed for the ISU. . . . We're looking to the future to establish these people."
Dore said the timing of his resignation was "peculiar for a very honest reason." He decided to resign to give younger Skate Canada executives a chance to get a head start on the next Olympic quadrennial.
"I thought if they saw it was really in their court, they might pay more attention to the Olympics," Dore said. "They might start off the program a lot better."
Dore said management knew of his pending resignation for a couple of months, but he asked that it not be announced because he didn't want to overshadow skaters preparing for the Olympics.
Shortly after resigning, Dore said he asked for and received his amateur status. He had lost it when he became a paid employee of Skate Canada. He could not run for the ISU council or other ISU posts unless he regained his eligibility. (Lavoie is a vice-president of Skate Canada, but that post is a voluntary, unpaid one.)
"I wanted to regain it anyway," Dore said. "I hated it when I lost it."
He said it was in the back of his mind to some day run for an ISU post, but he thought it was in the distant future, he said.
After the Olympics, Dore said, he was approached several times to run for the council. It's only been in the past couple of weeks that Skate Canada asked him to toss his name into the ring, he said.
"I said I would only consider it if it was their decision," he said. "This wasn't my decision. I didn't put myself up. Somebody else has to say that I have the ability to do this."
Dore said he was aware of all the speculation surrounding the possibility that he resigned his Skate Canada post to run for ISU positions, but "one step didn't lead to the other," he said.
Being nominated to run for the ISU council doesn't mean he will be elected, he said. "It's the most out-of-control thing I've ever faced," he said. "It's very much a closed, secret ballot, and I have no idea what people will do. It's very difficult to politick because they don't have a very formalized system.
"Most of their nominations come from the floor. They don't publish a list of all the people that are running. It only becomes known at the time of the congress. . . . People can put their hat in at the last minute."
Dore said he believes many people will run for election at this ISU congress, because they want change.
He will be running against another Canadian, Joyce Hisey, who has been one of the six council members for many years. "This is not a war," Dore said. "I have nothing but the highest regard for Joyce Hisey. I happen to be running alongside her. I'm not running against her to remove her. I do think she has a tremendous number of skills."