FILE PHOTO: Ice dance team Emma Aalto and Millie Colling train at a rink in Helsinki, Finland, September 1, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo
MANCHESTER, England, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Same-sex couples will be permitted to compete in ice dance in British events as of next season, including the national championships, British Ice Skating announced on Wednesday.
However, same-sex teams cannot compete beyond the national level, as the International Skating Union's rules stipulate pair and dance teams must comprise one man and one woman.
British Ice Skating announced the rule change as part of its updates to championship requirements for next season.
Britain follows national federations in Canada and Finland, with Skate Canada becoming the first national body in 2022 to update its rules to allow any two skaters to form a pair or ice dance team, regardless of gender.
The rule change came into effect in Finland this season with Emma Aalto and Millie Colling becoming the country's first same-sex ice dancing team.
Former skaters such as Canada's triple world medallist Kaitlyn Weaver, a member of the ISU's ice dance technical committee, have lobbied the ISU to change the rule.
Retired Olympic ice dance champions Madison Hubbell of the U.S. and Gabriella Papadakis of France have skated together in exhibitions in a bid to help pave the way for same-sex pairs to compete officially.
Canada's triple world ice dance champion Scott Moir has argued for the inclusion of same-sex partnerships, partly because it provides more opportunities for female skaters who face a shortage of male partners in the sport.
(Reporting by Lori EwingEditing by Christian Radnedge)
