Figure skating-Same-sex ice dance duo to compete in Finland following rule change

HELSINKI :Two young women are set to become Finland's first same-sex ice dancing team after a landmark rule change by the country's skating federation, paving the way for greater inclusivity in the sport.

19-year-old Emma Aalto of Finland and 20-year-old Millie Colling of England will compete together in Finnish domestic competitions following a revision to the federation's rules, which now refer to ice dancers as "Skater A" and "Skater B" instead of "man" and "woman". The change was made earlier this year after the duo submitted a request to compete together.

"Now we are allowed to compete in domestic events in Finland... We're the first and only junior level team to do that," Colling told Reuters.

The move was inspired by Skate Canada's 2022 decision to eliminate gender requirements for national-level ice dance teams. Aalto and Colling hope the international skating community will follow suit.

"We hope that maybe change will happen just gradually, maybe," Colling said.

"We have dreams," Aalto added.

However, no international rule change is currently planned. Former ice dancer Kaitlyn Weaver, a three-time world medallist and member of the International Skating Union's Ice Dance Technical Committee, said the issue had been discussed but not formally proposed.

"We have to treat this in a way where there's an education piece, there's an understanding, as opposed to putting it forward and then it getting shot down," Weaver said.

She added that the global political climate, including Donald Trump's re-election as U.S. president, has made progress more difficult.

"My concern really is, as the world is shifting into a more conservative – and it's not just happening in the States, it's happening around the world in certain places – my