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.
Figure skating was first contested in the Olympic Games at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Since 1924, the sport has been a part of the Winter Olympic Games.
Figure skating is a sport with participants across the world. Originally based in North America and Europe, the sport has experienced a major expansion in the countries of East Asia. The international governing body of the sport is the International Skating Union (ISU). Only those nations which are members of the International Skating Union are allowed to compete in the figure skating events in the Olympic Games.
The 2001 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held from February 26 to March 2 at the Winter Sports Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Due to the large number of participants, the men's and ladies' qualifying groups were split into groups A and B.
The 2002 World Junior Figure Skating Championships was held from March 3 to 10 at the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre in Hamar, Norway. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Due to the large number of participants, the men's and ladies' qualifying groups were split into groups A and B. The first compulsory dance was the Viennese Waltz and the second was the Quickstep.
The 2002 World Figure Skating Championships were held at the M-Wave Arena in Nagano, Japan from March 16 to 24, sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2006 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held in Ljubljana, Slovenia from March 6 to 12. Skaters competed in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2003 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held from February 24 to March 2 at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2005 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held at The Aud - Dom Cardillo Arena in Kitchener, Canada from February 28 to March 6. The event is open to figure skaters from ISU member nations who have reached the age of 13 by July 1 of the previous year, but have not yet turned 19. The upper age limit for men competing in pairs and dance is 21. Skaters compete in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2003 World Figure Skating Championships were held at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., USA from March 24 to 30. The senior-level international figure skating competition was sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2001 World Figure Skating Championships were held at the GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from March 17 to 25. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2004 World Figure Skating Championships were held at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany from March 22 to 28. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2005 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2004–05 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event was held at the Palavela in Turin, Italy from 25 January through 30, 2005.
The 2009 World Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2008–09 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place between January 14 and 24 at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington with AT&T as the title sponsor. Skaters competed in four disciplines – men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing – across three levels: senior, junior, and novice. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth).
Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The events took place between 14 and 27 February 2010.
The 2010 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2009–10 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event was held at the Saku Suurhall Arena in Tallinn, Estonia from 18 to 24 January 2010.
The 2002 Canadian Figure Skating Championships were held between January 8 and 13, 2002 at the Copps Coliseum and Chedoke Arena in Hamilton, Ontario. They were the figure skating national championship held to determine the national champions of Canada. It was organized by Skate Canada, the nation's figure skating governing body. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing on the senior and junior levels. Due to the large number of competitors, the senior men's and senior ladies' qualifying rounds were split into two groups. Aside from determining the national champions, the event also served to help choose the Canadian teams to the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 2002 World Championships, the 2002 Four Continents Championships, and the 2002 World Junior Championships.
The 2012 World Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition in the 2011–12 season. The event determined the World Champions in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. It was held between March 26 and April 1 in Nice, France.
The 2011 World Junior Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition during the 2010–11 season. Commonly called "World Juniors" and "Junior Worlds", the event crowned the World Junior Champions in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
Stéphane Lambiel 
Irina Slutskaya 
