Weir represented the United States at the Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, and is was the men's singles world junior figure skating champion in 2001.

He won a men's singles bronze at the World Championships in Gothenburg in 2008, and is a three-time national champion.

The now-38-year-old retired from the sport in 2013, and has since become the lead figure skating commentator for American broadcaster NBC.

He has experience covering events including the Super Bowl, Tokyo 2020 Olympics Closing Ceremony and US coverage of last year's Eurovision Song Contest.

South African sports journalist and television presenter Smit has covered Rugby and Cricket World Cups, and has previously partnered with the ISU on its "#UpAgain" campaign by interviewing figure skating stars on how they overcame challenges in their careers.

Smit has also created and hosted various virtual shows for the International Cricket Council, and shows for the 2021 and 2023 Rugby World Cup draws.

There are eight categories for the ISU Skating Awards - most valuable skater, best costume, most entertaining programme, best newcomer, best choreographer, best coach, the lifetime achievement award and special achievement award.

Russian figure skater Anna Shcherbakova, the women's singles Olympic champion, is notably included on the eight-athlete shortlist for the most valuable skater award, although the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation has demanded the removal of the 18-year-old from the list of candidates due to the ongoing war.

The ISU Skating Awards are scheduled for February 5 in the Swiss city of Zürich.

The Awards were delayed until this year because of the "the multiple challenges" during the 2021-2022 season, including the war in Ukraine.