TURIN, Italy -- Figure skating's Grand Prix series is in trouble.
Ottavio Cinquanta, president of the International Skating Union, said Friday he was looking to overhaul the series because prize money is diminishing and some stars are sitting out the events, including Michelle Kwan.
"The Grand Prix is really in great danger," he said at the European championships. "We may maintain the name Grand Prix, but maybe the structure will be different."
Cinquanta said he had ideas how to improve the event, but wants to present them to ISU officials before making them public.
The series -- six autumn competitions in major figure skating countries -- has lost clout in recent years as some skaters skip the meets and prepare for the bigger events. With an Olympics coming in February 2006, such absences could be more common next season.
Rights money from television broadcasts has decreased, shrinking the prize money. France's Trophee Bompard was an example. In 2003 it offered skaters $30,000 for winning, while in 2004 it was $18,000.
Five-time world and nine-time U.S. champion Kwan has skipped the series for about two years, while world champion Evgeni Plushenko was a reluctant participant in the Grand Prix final in Beijing.
Plushenko wanted to take it easy by focusing on shows instead of competition, but that led to turmoil when the ISU pressured him to compete.
"Lately, we have noticed that some countries, for instance the American federation, have not entered the best skaters they have at the Grand Prix events," Cinquanta said. "We cannot invent a good event with ghosts."
The Grand Prix was created in 1995 after figure skating's profile all over the world was raised by the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding saga.
