What drives ISU rules changes?

[Query]

I admit I'm too low level a skater to understand all the issues - but it seems like it would be best to have stable rules, so everyone knows what to work on. Especially since figure skating is already such a complicated sport that very few people know all the rules that affect them.

The ISU makes a bunch of rules changes, I think mostly listed in ISU communications, regarding figure skating, every year, e.g.,

  http://www.isu.org/en/single-and-pair-skating-and-ice-dance/isu-communications

Recent changes pertain to ages at which skaters can compete in specific groups (e.g., novice, junior, senior), points awarded for various moves, factors governing GOEs, permissible moves for various purposes, permissible music, and so on.

Are there good reasons for figure skating rules to keep changing? If so, what?

How much of it is self-serving politics - i.e., coaches and national officials and fans of particular skaters want rules changes that favor their skaters?

Or a desire to place the coaches and choreographers who learn about the changes in greater demand?

How much of it is the emotional need of people on rules committees to feel that they have accomplished something?

And how much is due to a general trend towards awarding fewer or no points for moves which too many people are now able to do? E.g., if people figure out how to do harder moves, the rules might be changed so that easier moves earn fewer points, pushing everyone to learn the new techniques.

Are there too many rule changes?

[lutefisk]

Can't answer your question specifically, but some in some sports, for example sailing, the international governing body updates rules on a four year cycle which is in step with the Olympics.  The current RRS (Racing Rules of Sailing) covers the years 2013-2016 and will be updated after the Rio games.

[Doubletoe]

I think it typically starts with the federations of the various ISU participating countries bringing up issues that they think should be addressed after each competition season.  Generally, people get tired of seeing certain features repeated over and over and being rewarded so they want to change the rules to make it more difficult to get levels on things like spins and step sequences.  Examples of moves that got eliminated this way are the spiral sequence, the second leveled step sequence, repetition of similar types of difficult spin variations and the reverse entry feature for spins.  And last year they decided skaters shouldn't get the full value of a combination spin unless it had all 3 positions, so now there are two different values for every combination spin (2p and 3p).  As for jumps, it seems to depend on whether the ISU governing body is being swayed to increase the importance of quadruple jumps or decrease their importance, and that affects both point values and the harshness or lenience for under-rotated jumps.

Do committees make changes just to justify their existence?  I'll plead the 5th on that one.

[sampaguita]

I remember that the rule on requiring a double OR triple axel in the ladies' short program favored Mao Asada (and her alone, at that time). I assume it was the Japan Skating Federation that lobbied for that change.