The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating (known as ISU Champions Series from 1995 to 1997) is a series of senior international figure skating competitions organized by the International Skating Union. The invitational series was inaugurated in 1995, [1] incorporating several previously existing events. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The junior-level equivalent is the ISU Junior Grand Prix.
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Currently, the sanctioned competitions for the Grand Prix are:
Fall international competitions such as Skate America, organized by the skating federations of their host countries, had been held for many years prior to being organized into a series as separate individual events. Following the Nancy Kerrigan attack in 1994, television coverage of skating was saturated with made-for-TV professional skating events, while the traditional "amateur" or "eligible" competitions were neglected. In order to remedy this situation, in 1995, the skating federations from the United States, Canada, Germany, France, and Japan began to plan their events as a series with cooperative marketing of the television rights in those countries, and with prize money funded by the sale of those rights. At this point, the International Skating Union stepped in and asserted its ownership of the international television rights to the series.
When it was first created in the 1995–1996 skating season, the series was known as the ISU Champions Series. It did not become known as the Grand Prix of Figure Skating until the 1998–1999 season, when the ISU gained the rights to use that name.
It was originally composed of five events, held in the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, and France. Following the demise of the Prize of Moscow News, last held in 1990, the Russian federation created the Cup of Russia, which increased the number of events to six in 1996, the series' second year. In the fall of 2003, the event in Germany, the Bofrost Cup on Ice, was discontinued, and was replaced with one in China, due to the ISU having negotiated a more favorable television contract in that country.
In 1997, the ISU also created a similar series of developmental events for junior age-eligible skaters. Initially known as the ISU Junior Series, these events are now named the ISU Junior Grand Prix. This season begins before the senior-level one does.
Skaters are entered in the individual events either by being seeded or by invitation. The seeding of top skaters at Grand Prix events basically takes into account their placement from the previous World Championships, as well as their ISU international ranking. Skaters who are not seeded can be invited by the hosting country and each country can invite up to three of their own skaters for each discipline. This is to give a balanced field throughout the series, as well as allowing the hosting country a chance to showcase their top competitors.
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating uses a points-based system based on results from the selected international events. The top qualifying skaters from each discipline are eligible to compete in the Grand Prix Figure Skating Final. The entry, seeding, and qualification rules for the individual events have varied from year to year, and also between the different disciplines. Currently, skaters are assigned to one or two events.
Starting with the 2003–04 season, the Interim Judging System was introduced for scoring events in the Grand Prix. This later developed into the ISU Judging System, often called the Code of Points (CoP), of figure skating, replacing the previous 6.0 system.
Over the years, the ISU has experimented with different formats for the Grand Prix Final competition. In some years, skaters were required to prepare three different programs rather than the normal two, with the third program being used for a skate-off between the top two finishers in each discipline after the initial rounds. This is no longer the case.
To be eligible for the senior Grand Prix series, skaters are required to have turned 15 by the preceding July 1 (e.g. July 1, 2009 for the 2009–10 series). A skater must meet the age requirement before it turns July 1 in their place of birth. For example, Adelina Sotnikova was born a few hours into July 1, 1996, in Moscow and consequently, was not eligible to compete until the 2011–12 season. [2]
In 2011, minimum score requirements were added to the senior Grand Prix series and set at two-thirds of the top scores at the 2011 World Championships. Prior to competing in a senior Grand Prix event, skaters must earn the following: [3]
Discipline | Minimum |
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Men | 168.60 |
Ladies | 117.48 |
Pairs | 130.71 |
Ice dance | 111.15 |
The International Skating Union decided that the minimums do not apply to "host picks", i.e. Canadians Adriana DeSanctis and Elladj Baldé were allowed to compete at their home country's event, 2011 Skate Canada, despite failing to reach the minimums at the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy.
Only top 10 positions by number of victories (in each discipline) are shown here. Active skaters are marked with a hash (#). Skaters who at least once participated in three Grand Prix events within a single season, the Grand Prix Final not included, are marked with an asterisk (*).
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Men
Pairs
| Women
Ice dance
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Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | Russia | 240 | 205 | 170 | 615 |
2 | United States | 127 | 153 | 153 | 433 |
3 | Japan | 105 | 116 | 82 | 303 |
4 | Canada | 99 | 82 | 92 | 273 |
5 | China | 60 | 68 | 48 | 176 |
6 | France | 54 | 41 | 57 | 152 |
7 | Germany | 33 | 13 | 21 | 67 |
8 | Italy | 21 | 36 | 39 | 96 |
9 | South Korea | 11 | 3 | 12 | 26 |
10 | Ukraine | 8 | 15 | 18 | 41 |
11 | Bulgaria | 8 | 4 | 8 | 20 |
12 | Spain | 7 | 6 | 4 | 17 |
13 | Switzerland | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
14 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
15 | Belgium | 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
16 | Czech Republic | 2 | 5 | 6 | 13 |
17 | Finland | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
18 | Lithuania | 1 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
19 | Great Britain | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
20 | Hungary | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 |
21 | Georgia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
22 | Latvia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
23 | Israel | 0 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
24 | Poland | 0 | 2 | 13 | 15 |
25 | Kazakhstan | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
26 | Azerbaijan | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
27 | Belarus | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
28 | Austria | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
29 | Armenia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Denmark | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Estonia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Romania | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (33 entries) | 791 | 791 | 791 | 2373 |
The Rostelecom Cup, formerly the Cup of Russia, is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series since 1996. Organized by the Figure Skating Federation of Russia, it has most frequently been held in Moscow, with several editions held in Saint Petersburg and once in Sochi. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The Bofrost Cup on Ice was a senior international figure skating competition held in Germany from 1986 to 2004. The event adopted its final name in 2002.
The 2006–07 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of international invitational competitions in the first half of the 2006–07 figure skating season. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs, and ice dancing over six events. Skaters earned a certain number of points per placement and the top six scoring skaters at the end of the series qualified for the 2006–07 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.
The 2006–07 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final was an elite figure skating competition event held at the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia from December 14 through December 17, 2006. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The figure skating season is the period of time in which competitions are contested in the sport of figure skating. The skating season begins on July 1 of one year and lasts until June 30 of the next year, thus spanning a full 12 months. The seasons are referred to by the years they span; for example, the 2017–18 figure skating season began in July 2017 and ended in June 2018.
The 2005–06 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final was an elite figure skating competition held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan from December 16 to 18, 2005. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2004–05 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final was an elite figure skating competition held at the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing, China from December 16 to 19, 2004. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2002–03 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final was an elite figure skating competition held from February 28 to March 2, 2003 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Unlike most competitions that season, the compulsory dance was not part of the ice dancing competition at the Grand Prix Final.
The 2007–08 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final was an elite figure skating competition held at the Palavela in Turin, Italy from December 13 through 16, 2007. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2009–10 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of senior-level international figure skating competitions in the 2009–10 season. The six invitational events took place in the fall of 2009, building to the Grand Prix Final. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing on the senior level. At each event, skaters earned points based on their placement and the top six in each discipline at the end of the series qualified for the 2009–10 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, held in Tokyo, Japan.
The 2010–11 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series of the 2010–11 season. It was a series of six international invitational competitions in the fall of 2010 that built to the Grand Prix Final. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing on the senior level. At each event, skaters earned points based on their placement toward qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. The top six scoring skaters or teams at the end of the series competed at the 2010–2011 Grand Prix Final, held in Beijing, China.
The 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of senior international figure skating competitions in the 2011–12 season. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing at six invitational competitions in the fall of 2011. Skaters earned points based on their placement at each event and the skaters who finished in the top six in each discipline qualified to compete at the Grand Prix Final, held in Quebec City, Canada.
The 2012–13 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of senior international figure skating competitions in the 2012–13 season. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points based on their placement at each event and the top six in each discipline qualified to compete at the Grand Prix Final, held in Sochi, Russia.
The 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of senior international figure skating competitions in the 2013–14 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points based on their placement at each event and the top six in each discipline qualified to compete at the Grand Prix Final, held in Fukuoka, Japan.
The 2013 Rostelecom Cup was the final event of six in the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena in Moscow on November 22–24. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2013–14 Grand Prix Final.
The 2013–14 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final was an international figure skating competition in the 2013–14 season, held together with the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. The combined event was the culmination of two international series — the Grand Prix of Figure Skating and the Junior Grand Prix.
The 2020–21 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of senior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union that were held from October 2020 through December 2020. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Before modifications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, skaters would have earned points based on their placement at each event and the top six in each discipline would have qualified to compete at the Grand Prix Final in Beijing, China. Because of the pandemic, only four of the six events were held, while the Grand Prix Final also ultimately cancelled.
The 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of senior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union that were held from October 2021 through December 2021. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earned points based on their placements at each event and the top six in each discipline qualified to compete at the Grand Prix Final in Osaka, Japan. The Grand Prix Final was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022–23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating was a series of senior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union that were held from October 2022 through December 2022. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earned points based on their placements at each event and the top six in each discipline qualified to compete at the Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy.
The Grand Prix Series, held every year since 1995, is a six-fixture event that qualifies the top six skaters and teams in each discipline for the Grand Prix Final in December.