Editing Figure skating (section)

===Age eligibility===
To compete internationally on the senior level, skaters must be at least 17 before July 1 of the preceding year. To be eligible for junior-level events, a skater must be at least 13 but under 19 before that date (or 21 for male pair skaters and ice dancers).<ref name=espn/><ref name=isuage/> 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.<ref name=se1210/> 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.

The [[International Skating Union|ISU]] has modified its age rules several times. Before the 1990s, 12 was the minimum age for senior international competitions.<ref name=cbs980615/> New rules were introduced in 1996, requiring skaters to be at least 15 before July 1 of the preceding year to compete at the Olympics, Worlds, Europeans, or Four Continents.<ref name=espn/> The minimum age for all other senior internationals was 14 until July 2014, when it was raised to 15. The age limit was then raised to 16 years old for the 2023–24 season before increasing to 17 for the 2024–25 season, in a move to raise the age limit gradually.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Merrell |first=Chloe |date=7 June 2022 |title=Figure Skating: ISU Congress votes in favour of increasing age limit to 17 years |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/figure-skating-isu-congress-age-limit-increase |access-date=23 December 2022 |website=Olympics: Olympic Games, Medals, Results & Latest News |archive-date=July 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705124526/https://olympics.com/en/news/figure-skating-isu-congress-age-limit-increase |url-status=live }}</ref> The move came after the [[Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Women's singles|2022 Winter Olympics scandal]] over [[Kamila Valieva|Kamila Valieva's]] doping allegations and the controversy over her responsibility as a minor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mngqosini |first=Sammy |date=2022-06-07 |title=Ice skating set to gradually raise minimum competition age from 15 to 17 after Kamila Valieva doping scandal |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/07/sport/kamila-valieva-ice-skating-minimum-age-spt-intl/index.html |access-date=2022-12-23 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=December 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223172329/https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/07/sport/kamila-valieva-ice-skating-minimum-age-spt-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 2005–06 season, [[Mao Asada]] of Japan 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. For the [[2008 World Figure Skating Championships|2008 World Championships]], the United States was obliged to send skaters who had placed 5th and 7th at nationals because higher-placed skaters were too young, including a skater who missed the cutoff by 20 days.<ref name=espn/><ref name=agereq/> The ISU has strictly enforced the rules in recent years.<ref name=espn/> However, American pair skater [[Natasha Kuchiki]] was allowed to compete at the [[1990 World Figure Skating Championships|1990 World Championships]] when she was two years too young and American single skater [[Tara Lipinski]], who was 13 at the time the 1996 rules were introduced, was [[Grandfather clause|grandfathered]] into remaining eligible for future events, along with other skaters who had already competed at the World Championships. A loophole also existed for a few years for underage skaters who had medaled at Junior Worlds.<ref name=cbs000316/>

As in [[Age requirements in gymnastics#Age falsification|gymnastics]], skating has experienced controversy surrounding possible [[Age fabrication|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 ISU ages, and six male skaters, [[Han Cong]], [[Zhang Hao (figure skater)|Zhang Hao]], [[Yan Han (figure skater)|Yan Han]] and [[Gao Yu (figure skater)|Gao Yu]],  Zang Wenbo, and Xu Zuoren were older.<ref name=espn/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sports.sohu.com/20110217/n279378463.shtml|title=曝花滑再有三人涉嫌年龄作假 冰协资料07年已错-搜狐体育|website=sports.sohu.com|access-date=2017-11-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sports.sohu.com/20110217/n279394735.shtml|title=闫涵等花滑小将也陷"年龄门" 黑名单再添三人-搜狐体育|website=sports.sohu.com|access-date=2017-11-29}}</ref> The dates disappeared from the website by February 15.<ref name=feb1711/> On February 17, the ISU said there were no discrepancies for [[Zhang Dan]], [[Zhang Hao (figure skater)|Zhang Hao]], and [[Xu Binshu]] between the birthdates listed on their passports, ISU registration forms and the [[Chinese Olympic Committee]]'s website.<ref name=feb1711/> Athletes in China sometimes face pressure to falsify their age.<ref name=survive/>