WASHINGTON -- A group of disenchanted figure skating officials plans to introduce an organization Tuesday to challenge the International Skating Union.

A skating source with knowledge of the splinter group's plans told The Associated Press on Monday night that the new association was being formed because of unhappiness with ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta's leadership.

A news conference has been called for noon ET Tuesday, where organizers of the challenging group will disclose their plans. The new organization would be involved with only figure skating; the ISU also oversees speedskating.

''It's something deep in the planning stages,'' the source said on condition of anonymity. ''To say all the details have been worked out is a bit premature.''

An ISU spokesman said the federation would have no comment Monday.

Last Thursday, U.S. skating judge Ron Pfenning was dismissed as referee of the women's event at the World Figure Skating Championships, which began Monday. Pfenning resigned from the ISU's powerful technical committee Friday night, only a few hours after saying he didn't plan to do so.

Pfenning has been one of the more outspoken critics of Cinquanta, and he also was at the center of the Salt Lake City Olympics figure skating scandal. As referee of the pairs competition, he revealed that French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne said she was pressured to vote for a Russian couple rather than a Canadian pair in the Olympics free skate.

Recently, Pfenning protested to Cinquanta that the ISU Council had abused the judging process by eliminating judges' post-event discussions of marks. That prompted his being fired as a referee at worlds.

Pfenning was identified by USA Today as one of the organizers of the splinter group. Others mentioned as supporting him are Sally Stapleford, the former chairwoman of the technical committee who has a long-running feud with Cinquanta; and Jon Jackson, a skating judge who overheard Le Gougne admitting she was pressured at Salt Lake City.

Jackson raised concerns after the Olympics that Cinquanta might try to let the Salt Lake City controversy die rather than investigate it fully.

''It involves a great number of people with very deep concerns for what's happening in our sport,'' the source said.

The new group also is ''very well-funded,'' the source added. USA Today reported that the organization has a budget of nearly $1 million.

When asked Monday night about the formation of the splinter group, Stapleford didn't deny it, saying she would reserve comment until after the news conference Tuesday.

''All I would say is I think you will find it very interesting,'' Stapleford said.

Skating has been struggling to regain its credibility since the Salt Lake City scandal, and the furor over the interim judging system hasn't helped. Critics say its anonymity protects shady judges, and the U.S. Figure Skating Association is on record as opposing it.

John Nicks, a world-class coach for more than three decades, attended the pairs short program Monday. He said he was extremely disappointed with the interim judging system in use, a system backed by Cinquanta -- and at the core of much of the conflict within the sport.

''You'll find that 95 percent of the coaches, 95 percent of the skaters who are either retired or no longer competing, are appalled by this,'' Nicks said. ''I would think you'll see a groundswell for something else in the near future. It's a very important issue for the sport.''