John Nicks Pairs Challenge

John Nicks Pairs Challenge
Genre	ISU Challenger Series
Frequency	Annual
Venue	Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers
Location	New York City, New York
Country	United States
Inaugurated	2021
Previous event	2025 CS John Nicks International Pairs Competition
Organized by	Skating Club of New York & U.S. Figure Skating

The John Nicks Pairs Challenge is an annual pairs figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Skating Club of New York and U.S. Figure Skating at the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers in New York City, New York, in the United States. ^[1] The competition debuted in 2021 and is named in honor of John Nicks, a retired British figure skater who worked as a figure skating coach in the United States for nearly four decades. In 2024, it became part of the ISU Challenger Series. ^[2] Medals are awarded in pair skating at the senior and junior levels; and as part of the Challenger Series, skaters earn ISU World Standing points based on their results.

History

The competition is named in honor of John Nicks, ^[3] a retired figure skater who competed for Great Britain in single skating and later pair skating with his sister Jennifer. ^[4] They are four-time World Championship medalists (gold in 1953, silver in 1950, and bronze in 1951 and 1952); ^[5] four-time European Championship medalists (gold in 1953, silver in 1952, and bronze in 1950 and 1951); ^[6] and six-time British national champions. ^[7] After the crash of Sabena Flight 548 in 1961, in which most of the U.S. national figure skating team was killed, ^[8] Nicks chose to emigrate to the United States to work as a coach and help rebuild the American skating program. He had been impressed by the American skaters he watched at the 1948 Winter Olympics, and this helped influence his decision to move to the United States. ^[4] Nicks was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000. ^[3] He coached an estimated 1,200 skaters during a career than spanned over four decades, ^[4] including Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, ^[9] JoJo Starbuck and Kenneth Shelley, ^[4] Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, ^[10] Sasha Cohen, ^[11] and Ashley Wagner. ^[4]

The inaugural edition of the John Nicks Pairs Challenge was held in 2021. Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the United States were the champions. ^[12] In 2024, the John Nicks Pairs Challenge – now called the John Nicks International Pairs Competition – was the second event of the ISU Challenger Series, ^[13] a series of international figure skating competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The objective is to ensure consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions linked together, providing opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level and also earn ISU World Standing points. ^[14] The most recent iteration of this competition was held in 2025. ^[15]

Senior medalists

The 2025 John Nicks International Pairs Competition gold and silver medalists: Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada (gold); and Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov of the United States (silver)

CS: Challenger Series event

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Ref.
2021	Alexa Knierim Brandon Frazier	Jessica Calalang Brian Johnson	Audrey Lu Misha Mitrofanov	[12]
2022	Rebecca Ghilardi Filippo Ambrosini	Emily Chan Spencer Howe	Valentina Plazas Maximiliano Fernandez	[16]
2023	Camille Kovalev Pavel Kovalev	Anna Valesi Manuel Piazza		[17]
2024 CS	Ellie Kam Daniel O'Shea	Alisa Efimova Misha Mitrofanov	Ekaterina Geynish Dmitrii Chigirev	[18]
2025 CS	Deanna Stellato-Dudek Maxime Deschamps		Katie McBeath Daniil Parkman	[15]

Junior medalists

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Ref.
2021	Chloe Panetta Kieran Thrasher	Cate Fleming Chase Finster	Laiken Lockley Jedidiah Isbell	[12]
2022	Ellie Korytek Timmy Chapman	Catherine Rivers Nathan Rensing	Lilanna Murray Jordan Gillette	[16]
2023	Saya Carpenter Jon Maravilla	Sofia Enkina Nikita Kovalenko	Ashley Fletcher Aaron Felberbaum	[17]
2024	Reagan Moss Jakub Galbavy	Addyson McDanold Aaron Felberbaum	Neamh Davison Daniel Borisov	[18]
2025		Hannah Herrera Ivan Khobta		[15]

Cumulative medal count (senior medalists)

Total number of John Nicks Pairs Challenge medals by nation

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	2	4	4	10
2	Italy	1	1	0	2
3	Canada	1	0	0	1
	France	1	0	0	1
5	Uzbekistan	0	0	1	1
Totals (5 entries)		5	5	5	15

References

1. "2025 John Nicks Pairs International Challenger Series - Announcement" (PDF). International Skating Union . Archived (PDF) from the original on August 29, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
2. "Communication No. 2619". International Skating Union . March 19, 2024. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
3. "The John Nicks International Pairs Challenge at the 97th Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Championships". The Skating Club of New York . Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
4. Rosewater, Amy (January 14, 2013). "A life in skating: An interview with John Nicks". Ice Network. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
5. "World Figure Skating Championships: Pairs" (PDF). International Skating Union . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2006. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
6. "European Figure Skating Championships: Pairs" (PDF). International Skating Union . Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
7. • "Liverpool Girl Wins Skating Title", December 17, 1947, The Daily Telegraph , p.3, via Newspapers.com
   • "Skating Around the World", May 1949, Skating , vol. 26, no. 7, pp. 32–34
   • "Skating Around the World", May 1950, Skating , vol. 27, no. 7, pp. 17–18
   • "Skating Around the World", March 1951, Skating , vol. 28, no. 5, p. 22
   • "Skating Titles for Miss Osborn", March 29, 1952, Liverpool Daily Post , p. 7, via Newspapers.com
   • "Skating Title for 15-Year-Old", December 5, 1952, The Daily Telegraph , p. 16, via Newspapers.com
8. "'Ice Queen,' 17 Other U.S. Skaters Killed". United Press International . February 15, 1961. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
9. "Long Path Has Rewards for Babilonia, Gardner" . Los Angeles Times . February 19, 2002. Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
10. "Jenni Meno & Todd Sand". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on March 7, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2006.
11. Elliott, Helene (March 26, 2003). "Still Waiting for Sasha Cohen" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
12. "2021 John Nicks Pairs Challenge". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
13. "Communication No. 2619". International Skating Union . March 19, 2024. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
14. "Challenger Series". International Skating Union . Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
15. "2025 John Nicks Pairs Challenge". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on October 13, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
16. "2022 John Nicks Pairs Challenge". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
17. "2023 John Nicks Pairs Challenge". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
18. "2024 John Nicks Pairs Challenge". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on January 27, 2025. Retrieved October 13, 2025.

External links

• John Nicks Pairs Challenge at Skating Scores