The Bulgarian Figure Skating Championships are a competition held annually to determine the national champions of Bulgaria. Skaters compete in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior, junior, and novice levels, although not every discipline is held every year due to a lack of participants. The event is organized by the Bulgarian Skating Federation, the sport's governing body.
Ivan Dinev currently holds the record for winning the most Bulgarian Championship titles in men's singles (with fifteen), while Evgenia Nikolova holds the record in women's singles (with ten). Two teams are tied for winning the most titles in pair skating: Elizaveta Makarova and Leri Kenchadze hold the record in pair skating (with four), although Kenchadze won an additional title with a different partner. Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski hold the record in ice dance (with eleven).
History
Bulgaria's national governing body was established on 16 September 1949 and initially included ice hockey.[1] The first Bulgarian figure skaters to compete internationally were Aleksandr Penchev,at the 1966 Winter Universiade and Emil Dimitrov, at the 1966 Prague Skate.[2] Bulgaria joined the International Skating Union in 1967.[3]
Evelina Panova competed at the inaugural World Junior Championships (1976).[1] Over the next seven years, Bulgaria debuted at the European Championships in three disciplines — Margarita Dimitrova in women's singles (1979), Boyko Aleksiev in men's singles (1980), and Hristina Boyanova and Yavor Ivanov in ice dance (1983). In 1984, Boyanova and Ivanov became the first figure skaters to represent Bulgaria at the Olympics. A year later, figure skating and ice hockey were split into separate federations.[2]
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Bulgaria
