No Hungarian-born athletes among those representing Hungary at World Junior Figure Skating Championships

What could have led to the Hungarian skating sport sending Russian athletes to compete for Hungary, using Hungarian taxpayers' money?

After the European adult figure skating and ice dancing championships in February, at which the Hungarian National Skating Federation (MOKSZ) entered a single Hungarian-born athlete, the junior world championships, which started in Canada on Monday, will not include even a single Hungarian-born athlete in the national team, 24.hu writes in its article.

The article paints a shocking picture of the state of the sport in Hungary. As it turns out, three athletes born in Russia and one born in France are currently representing Hungary in Calgary.

According to the website of the Canadian competition, Hungary will be represented in ice dancing by the duo Maya Benkiewicz/Mark Shapiro, the former born in France, the latter born in Moscow and a Russian citizen, in men's singles by Aleksandr Vlasenko, also a Russian citizen, born in Tyumen, Siberia, and in women's singles by Polina Dzhumanyiatsova, born in Moscow but a Hungarian citizen for the past year.

None of the four figure skaters enlisted speak Hungarian.

According to the article, the MOKSZ used state tax funds to send foreign coaches from Russia and France to the World Championships, Júlia Sebestyén being the only exception.

There are also talented Hungarian athletes, for example in the women's competition, but for some reason the presidency of the sporting body, which has been headed by Fidesz politician Lajos Kósa since 2011, did not favour the Hungarian skater but the Moscow-born girl, and approved her entry instead.

The "Hungarians" of the sport do not understand this, emotions are running high, and the parents have written several letters to the MOKSZ leadership, in which they have also complained about Júlia Sebestyén and the Armenian-Russian professional leaders, the section's sports director Gurgen Vardanjan and his wife, the federation captain Jeranjak Ipakjan.

According to the newspaper, the conflict-ridden conditions have already led to the departure of all the top Hungarian athletes from the club of Hungary's last European champion, Sebestyén KSE.

24.hu further writes that, the MOKSZ presidency held an extraordinary meeting to on 16 February to discuss the situation as well as the veracity of the letter from the parents complaining of humiliation and threats, and, according to our information, a decision was also made on the future of the Armenian coaching duo.

The Hungarian National Skating Federation is still silent about this meeting, as well as about the cost to Hungarian taxpayers for the travel, payment and ice use of the Russian athletes and their coaches. After two weeks, Orsolya Váradi, the executive director of the Hungarian National Skating Federation, ackonwledged the legitimacy of 24.hu's request for information, but replied that since the

the fulfilment of the request would entail a disproportionate use of the human resources necessary for fulfilling the basic activities of the public body, and thus the MOKSZ wishes to make use of its right to a 15-day extension granted by law.