The World Figure Skating Championships, commonly referred to as "Worlds", are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Generally held in March, the World Championships are considered to be the most prestigious of the ISU Figure Skating Championships. With the exception of the Olympic title, a world title is considered to be the highest competitive achievement in figure skating.
Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo is an American former competitive figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating. As a single skater, he is the 1996 U.S. national champion, 1987 World Junior Champion, and 1996 World Bronze medalist. As a pairs skater, he competed with Kristi Yamaguchi and was the 1988 World Junior Champion and the 1989 and 1990 U.S. National Champion. He is the first openly gay skating champion in the United States, though US, World and Olympic champion Brian Boitano came out long after his career was over.
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of senior international figure skating competitions organized by the International Skating Union. The invitational series was inaugurated in 1995, incorporating several previously existing events. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The junior-level equivalent is the ISU Junior Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix de France is an annual international figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. It is organized by the French Federation of Ice Sports. It was previously known as the Grand Prix International de Paris (1987–93), the Trophée de France, the Trophée Lalique (1996–2003), the Trophée Éric Bompard (2004–15), and the Internationaux de France. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women’s singles, pair skating, and ice dance.
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The series was inaugurated in 1997 to complement the senior-level ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Skaters earn qualifying points at each Junior Grand Prix event and the six highest-ranking qualifiers meet at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, which is held concurrently with the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.
Skate Israel was a senior-level international figure skating competition, held in Metulla, Israel. Medals were awarded in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
Shelby Lyons is an American retired competitive figure skater who competed in both singles and pairs. She originally competed as a single skater on the novice level before teaming up with Brian Wells. They won four medals at the United States Figure Skating Championships between 1995 and 1998, and competed twice at the World Figure Skating Championships, placing 10th in 1996 and in 1998. Their partnership ended in 1998. During this time, Lyons had been competing in singles. She was the 1996 U.S. Junior national champion in singles and had competed on the Junior Grand Prix. Following the end of the partnership, Lyons went back to focusing on skating singles. She has since retired and has skated professionally on Disney on Ice. She now teaches singles, pairs, and dance in Colorado.
The 1996 NHK Trophy was the fifth event of six in the 1996–97 ISU Champions Series, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held in Osaka on December 5–8. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 1996–97 Champions Series Final.
The 1996–97 ISU Champions Series Final was an elite figure skating competition held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from February 28 through March 2, 1997. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 1995–96 ISU Champions Series Final was an elite figure skating competition held in Paris, France from February 23 through 25, 1996. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 1996 Trophée Lalique was the third event of six in the 1996–97 ISU Champions Series, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris on 15–17 November. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 1996–97 Champions Series Final. The compulsory dance was the Golden Waltz and the original dance was the Tango.
The 1996 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Edmonton, Canada on March 17–24. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 1996 Skate America was the first event of six in the 1996–97 ISU Champions Series, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts on October 31 – November 3. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points towards qualifying for the 1996–97 Champions Series Final.
The 1996 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 1996–97 ISU Champions Series, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held in Kitchener, Ontario on November 7–10. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 1996–97 Champions Series Final.
The 1996 Cup of Russia was the sixth event of six in the 1996–97 ISU Champions Series, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held in Saint Petersburg on December 12–15. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 1996–97 Champions Series Final.
The 1996 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place between January 13 and 21, 1996 in San Jose, California. Skaters competed in five disciplines across three levels. The disciplines of the competition were men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dancing, and compulsory figures. The levels of competition were Senior, Junior, and Novice. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth). In the figures event, the novice competitors skated one figure, and the juniors and seniors skated three.
The 1996 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior-level international competition held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Elite skaters from European ISU member nations competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 1996 Ondrej Nepela Memorial was the 4th edition of an annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Bratislava, Slovakia. It took place between September 27 and 30, 1996. Skaters competed in three disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating. The competition is named for 1972 Olympic gold medalist Ondrej Nepela.
The 1996 Nebelhorn Trophy took place between August 27 and 30, 1996. It is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain.
Piruetten was a senior international figure skating competition held in Hamar, Norway. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance. It later became a junior event held in some years as part of the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.