Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance; the four individual disciplines are also combined into a team event, which was first included in the Winter Olympics in 2014. The non-Olympic disciplines include synchronized skating, Theater on Ice, and four skating. From intermediate through senior-level competition, skaters generally perform two programs, which, depending on the discipline, may include spins, jumps, moves in the field, lifts, throw jumps, death spirals, and other elements or moves.
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.
Synchronized skating, often called synchro, is an ice skating sport where between 8 and 20 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork.
The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands, in July 1892, making it one of the oldest international sport federations. The ISU was formed to establish standardized international rules and regulations for the skating disciplines it governs, and to organize international competitions in these disciplines. It is now based in Switzerland.
U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act and is the United States member of the International Skating Union (ISU). Although the official name of the organization is "the United States Figure Skating Association," it is now known as and conducts business under the name "U.S. Figure Skating." Founded in 1921, U.S. Figure Skating regulates and governs the sport and defines and maintains the standard of skating proficiency. It specifies the rules for testing, competitions, and all other figure skating related activities. U.S. Figure Skating promotes interest and participation in the sport by assisting member clubs, skaters, and athletes, appointing officials, organizing competitions, exhibitions, and other figure skating pursuits, and offering a wide variety of programs.
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships (4CC) is an annual figure skating competition. The International Skating Union established it in 1999 to provide skaters representing non-European countries with a similar competition to the much older European Figure Skating Championships. The event's name refers to the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pairs, and ice dance.
Sports in the Philippines is an important part of the country's culture. There are six major sports in the Philippines: basketball, boxing, tennis, football, billiards, and volleyball.
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.
The 2013 World Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition in the 2012–13 season. The event was held at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, Canada on March 11–17. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event also determined the number of entries a country may send to the 2014 World Championships and 2014 Winter Olympics.
The 2013–14 figure skating season began on July 1, 2013, and ended on June 30, 2014. During this season, elite skaters competed at the 2014 European Championships, Four Continents Championships, World Junior Championships, and World Championships, as well as the 2014 Winter Olympics. They also competed at elite events such as the Grand Prix series and Junior Grand Prix series, culminating at the Grand Prix Final.
Brendan Kerry is an Australian figure skater. He is the 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy bronze medalist, the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy bronze medalist, the 2019 Toruń Cup champion, the 2016 Egna Spring Trophy champion, and an eight-time Australian national champion.
Kailani Craine is an Australian former figure skater. She is the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy champion, the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup silver medalist, the 2015 Toruń Cup silver medalist, and a six-time Australian national champion (2014–2019). She represented Australia at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, finishing 17th and 29th, respectively.
Figure skating at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games was held at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, South Korea. The five events took place between 9 and 23 February 2018.
Ekaterina Dmitriyevna Alexandrovskaya was a Russian-Australian pair skater. With her skating partner, Harley Windsor, she was the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy champion, the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medallist, the 2018 CS U.S. Classic bronze medallist, and a two-time Australian national champion.
Harley Windsor is a former Australian pair skater. With his former skating partner, Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya, he was the 2017 Junior World Champion, the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy champion, the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medallist, the 2018 CS U.S. Classic bronze medallist and a two-time Australian national champion.
Australia competed in the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo and Obihiro, Japan from 19 to 26 February. The event marked the debut of the country at the Asian Winter Games, however its athletes were not eligible to win any medals, as the team was classified as guest competitors.
Holly Harris is an Australian figure skater who currently competes in ice dance. With her skating partner, Jason Chan, she is the 2019 Australian national champion.
The 2021 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Stockholm, Sweden from March 22–28, 2021. Figure skaters competed for the title of world champion in men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs, and ice dance. The competition was used to determine the entry quotas for each federation at the 2022 World Championships and was the first qualification event for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 22–25, 2021 in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series. It was also the final qualifying event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance.
The 2022 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships were held from January 18–23, 2022, at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn, Estonia. Held annually since 1999, the competition featured skaters from the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance.
