KYOTO, Japan -- Figure skating is in a "crisis'' and its outdated judging system must be changed, the president of the International Skating Union said Monday.

In his opening speech at the ISU congress, Ottavio Cinquanta called on delegates to reform the beleaguered judging system for the good of the athletes.

"What has become evident and I would like to stress to you today, is that it is not possible to maintain a system of judging created decades ago,'' Cinquanta told delegates representing 53 nations.

"We cannot sacrifice the effort and dedication of skaters ... by maintaining an outdated system of judging that does not reflect the merit of the on-ice performance and unfortunately, in certain cases, can permit misconduct.

"It is not my role to specifically insist on certain recommendations. But it is my duty as it is the one of the council, to tell you that action is to be taken before it is too late.''

Shortly after, the ISU took its first steps toward reform, approving without opposition a proposal that gives the ISU control over judges' renominations. Member federations must still give judges their first nomination, but it will then be up to the ISU technical committee and ISU council to decide if they stay on the list.

This could help limit the pressure national federations have been able to exert over their judges, telling them their future as a judge is tied to the way they vote.

"At least the fear of not being nominated by the federation once you're on the list is out,'' said Fredi Schmid, secretary general of the ISU. "This is the first positive step.''

A similar proposal failed to win approval at the congress two years ago.

It was pressure from French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne's federation that sparked the Salt Lake City scandal. The International Olympic Committee made the unprecedented move of awarding duplicate gold medals after Le Gougne said she was pressured to "vote a certain way.''

Le Gougne later recanted her accusation, but the ISU suspended her and French federation president Didier Gailhaguet for three years and barred them from the 2006 Olympics.

The IOC has called on the ISU to reform the sport, with president Jacques Rogge even sending a letter for Cinquanta to read to the ISU delegates.

"I think they've had a shot across their bow with the Olympics,'' said Dick Pound, a senior IOC official and frequent figure skating critic. "I think they're certainly on notice.''

Indeed, cleaning up figure skating has taken center stage at the congress. Of the 49 proposals added to the agenda by a unanimous voice vote Monday, 20 are about reforming figure skating's judging system.

Delegates will vote on the proposals later this week, with a 2-3 majority needed to be approved.

"I don't know about a state of crisis. Figure skating is a strong sport and will remain so,'' said Phyllis Howard, president of the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

"It has some issues right now that need to be resolved.''

The ISU has, essentially, three options for reform. All involve a random selection of marks, making it tougher for judges to have the back-room dealings that tainted past competitions. From there, the proposals are vastly different.

The plan presented by the United States would keep the existing 6.0 scale, but use the median mark -- the statistical consensus among the judges -- to determine the winner.

"The U.S. basically keeps the system as we judge now, which is looking at the overall picture,'' veteran judge Joe Inman said. "I'm not adverse to change. But I think the median mark thing cleans it up a little bit.''

Australia also would keep the current marking scale, adding the technical and presentation scores together to get point totals.

The last option is the most controversial. Outlined by Cinquanta in Salt Lake City, it calls for replacing the 6.0 mark with a points system similar to those used by other subjective sports such as diving and snowboarding. Every element would have a set value, and future gold medalists could have three-digit scores instead of perfect 6.0s.

The ISU proposal also would modernize the process, with judges using touch-screen computers to score the competition.

"The USFSA, they are trying totally to improve the current system,'' Cinquanta said. "The ISU is trying to change the current system, to give another approach. So these two proposals are not comparable. It is a matter to decide whether to go to the right or to the left.''

There are some people -- skaters and coaches, in particular -- who just want to continue straight ahead.

They're well aware the system is flawed, but it works more often than it doesn't. Despite the furor in Salt Lake City, longtime coach John Nicks said the sport is actually cleaner now than in years past.

"When we had school figures, nobody knew what was going on. That allowed a lot of problems,'' he said. "Today it's as pure as the driven snow, in comparison.''

Besides, skaters say they know what they're getting into when they take up the sport. Because it combines athleticism and art, there will always be subjectivity. That may present problems, but it also helps give skating its rock star popularity.

Turn judging over to computers, and skating loses its unique charm.

"It is not like track and field and you have to cross the finish line first and then you are first, the winner,'' gold medalist Alexei Yagudin said. "The human part of it is too important. It needs to be part of the sport.''