Promoting figure skating in Taiwan is not so easy, but Taiwan is not alone in the world. When we look at the world map of the countries that have hosted the Winter Olympic Games, there are only a handful. “How could the countries without ice promote figure skating” is a question important not just to Taiwan but also to the global development of ice skating. 

As the leader of the Taiwanese ice-skating community, we believe we have laid down a good foundation for the development of the sport in Taiwan in the past decade. We have grown a good number of young figure skaters since 2005 when Taiwan has had its first ice rink that adheres to the international technical standard. This venue has transformed the figure skating scene from a leisure activity to a competitive sport. Yet, while the figure skating sport may be one of the most watched sports at the Winter Olympic Games, its competition season lasts only half a year. 

Aiming to draw figure skating fans’ interests and grow the sporting connoisseurship among the public, we started to live-broadcast our figure skating national championships in 2020. Our goal is to make the sport accessible to Taiwanese people and bring about growth in participation and confidence in commercial development. In addition to live broadcasting, we strive to organize our national tournaments at the same level as the international elite tournaments. We have introduced “the ISU judging system”, provided by the Olympic technology supplier Swiss Timing, which allows the athletes and coaches to review their performance on a detailed categorized scoresheet. 

We have also invited ELTA TV, Taiwan’s Olympic broadcaster, to produce the program. They’ve helped us ensure that the competition results and skaters are shown live on TV and online, using 6 high-speed cameras on site. We want our athletes to be used to the international practices and standard before they go and compete internationally. 

We need to look at the intangible legacy of having international tournaments taking roots locally. 

Figure skating viewership in Taiwan has been steadily growing over the past years, thanks to the hosting of ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in 2016 and 2018 which boosted the appetite of local figure skating spectatorships. The rise of figure skating superstars at proximity, notably Yuna Kim from South Korea and Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan, also have contributed to this growth. Quite a few online communities organized by the fans themselves or TV Broadcasters have provided sustained engagement keeping the figure skating fan base constantly entertained. Globally, the presence of elite figure skaters of Asian descent is prominent. Nonetheless, the quantity of the national tournaments we can organize is limited to two a year and only one training station is available domestically. We need international tournaments taking place in Taiwan. We also need innovative marketing approaches to mobilize mass participation and sustain commercial development around events. 

Chinese Taipei Skating Union, as the sole point of contact with the International Skating Union, we understand, probably more than anyone, that nurturing international relations and building trust takes time. Bidding international events is not just about submitting bidding documents. The competitiveness of our athletes and coaches as well as the strength of our development system and ice-skating industry in Taiwan must keep up. 

How do we better navigate ourselves in a post-pandemic era? 

The Covid-19 Pandemic has tremendously disrupted the organization and staging of international sport events. What is worse is that it has impacted the morale of the skating community. The disappointment of our athletes not being able to train properly and compete is easily felt. Our memory of a Tokyo Olympic Games without any in-venue spectators must be still fresh. The entire Games fan engagement experience was consumed exclusively through smart phones, tablets, the digital devices on our hands and TV. Without this technology and media, the Olympic Games might not have been felt in every vein around the world. 

Responding to this global challenge, the International Skating Union has made a bold and necessary move to introduce the ‘ISU virtual judging system' which allows athletes around the world to compete at home rink and judges score in front of a computer screen. As the international figure skating community rethinks and reinvents figure skating events to succeed, how can Taiwan be part of the evolution? 

The Chinese Taipei Skating Union organizes the Figure Skating Marketing Summit - that will take place online on September 27th and 28th - will gather key stakeholders in the industry to discuss topics such as the marketing potentials of Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms, the development benefits of the ‘ISU virtual judging system', the digital broadcasting of winter sports, and the challenges and opportunities in a post-pandemic era in online marketing and sports broadcasting. 

We are motivated to look for pathways to overcome the obstacles, and continue the plans of growing the sport, supporting not only athletes and coaches, but also looking at other possibilities that technology brings when it comes to deliver events related with figure skating, engaging with broader audiences and therefore minimize the impact of the pandemic while continue investing in the future of the sport. 

We need to show that Taiwan has quite a lot to offer and that there is a great potential for growth. The Summit will also serve on forging renewed relationships with the elite figure skating nations to exchange technical knowledge and the integration of digital technology on sports development and marketing. 

As it appears that global Covid-19 pandemic is here to stay. It is now time to seize the digital opportunities ahead. We invite all stakeholders, the government, the Olympic Committee, the venue operators, the athletes and coaches, corporates, and brands, all that care to leave a rich legacy for the next generations of skaters in Taiwan to join us. 

About the author：

Mr. Tiao-Chin Hung, President of Chinese Taipei Skating Union, is also the member of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, Vice Chairman of Jut Group and the Director of Jut Foundation for Arts & Architecture. 

Ms. May L.H. Wu is the Secretary General of Chinese Taipei Skating Union and served for 15 years at non-profit sports organizations such as the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, Chinese Taipei University Sports Federations, Chinese Taipei Paralympic Committee and Chinese Taipei Athletics Association. 

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