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.
Ice dance is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. According to the International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of figure skating, an ice dance team consists of one woman and one man.
Jamie Rae Salé is a Canadian former competitive pair skater. With her former husband David Pelletier, she is the 2002 Olympic Champion and 2001 World Champion. The Olympic gold medals of Salé and Pelletier were shared with the Russian pair Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze after the 2002 Winter Olympics figure skating scandal.
David Jacques Pelletier is a Canadian pairs figure skater. With his former wife Jamie Salé, he was the co-gold medal winner at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. They shared the gold medal with the Russian pair Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze after the 2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal.
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.
Jillian Marie Barberie is a Canadian-born American television hostess, sportscaster, radio personality and actress. From 1995 to 2012, she was a co-host on the Los Angeles television morning news and entertainment program Good Day L.A. on Fox owned-and-operated station KTTV. From 2000 to 2005, she appeared on Fox Sports as the weather host for Fox NFL Sunday. From 2006 to 2013, she was known as Jillian Reynolds, from her second marriage.
Tai Reina Babilonia is an American former pair skater. Together with Randy Gardner, she won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships and five U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1976–1980). The pair qualified for the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
Torvill and Dean are British ice dancers and former British, European, Olympic, and World champions.
Randy Gardner is an American former pair skater. Together with Tai Babilonia, he won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships and five U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1976–1980). The pair qualified for the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
John Luther Zimmerman IV is an American professional pair skater and coach. With skating partner Kyoko Ina, he is the 2002 World bronze medalist and a three-time U.S. national champion. They also competed at the 2002 Olympics. Zimmerman was suspended by the United States Center for SafeSport in March 2021 for a two-year period.
Lloyd Edgar Eisler, MSM, is a former Canadian pairs skater. With partner Isabelle Brasseur, he was the 1992 and 1994 Olympic bronze medallist and the 1993 World Champion.
John Allen Wisden Nicks is a British figure skating coach and former pair skater. With his sister, Jennifer Nicks, he is the 1953 World champion. As a coach, his skating pupils have included Peggy Fleming, pairs team Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Kristi Yamaguchi, Paul Wylie, Sasha Cohen, Rory Flack and Ashley Wagner.
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating as compared with independent Single Skating". The ISU also states that a pairs team consists of "one Woman and one Man". Pair skating, along with men's and women's single skating, has been an Olympic discipline since figure skating, the oldest Winter Olympic sport, was introduced at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The ISU World Figure Skating Championships introduced pair skating in 1908.
The World Professional Figure Skating Championships, often referred to as Landover, was an elite made-for-TV figure skating competition. It was created by Dick Button, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, through his production company Candid Productions. It usually took place in December. For most of its existence, it was an unsanctioned professional event, meaning that skaters who participated lost their eligibility to compete in the Winter Olympic Games and other "amateur" skating events controlled by the International Skating Union.
Figure skating lifts are required elements in two disciplines of figure skating: pair skating and ice dance. There are five groups of lifts in pair skating, categorized in order of increasing level of difficulty. Judges look for the following when evaluating pair lifts: speed of entry and exit; control of the woman's free leg when she is exiting out of the lift, with the goal of keeping the leg high and sweeping; the position of the woman in the air; the man's footwork; quick and easy changes of position; and the maintenance of flow throughout the lift. Twist lifts are "the most thrilling and exciting component in pair skating". They can also be the most difficult movement to perform correctly. They require more strength and coordination than many other pair elements, and are usually the first or second element in a program. According to the International Skating Union (ISU), "the Woman must be caught in the air at the waist by the Man prior to landing and be assisted to a smooth landing on the ice on a backward outside edge on one foot" during a twist lift. A pair lift and twist lift is required in the short program of pair skating; a well-balanced free skating program in pair skating must include lifts.
Christopher Knierim is an American former pair skater. With his wife, Alexa Scimeca Knierim, he is a 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in the figure skating team event, a two-time Four Continents medalist, a three-time Grand Prix medalist, and a three-time U.S. National Champion. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Knierims became the first American pair, and the second pair ever in history, to perform a quad twist at the Olympic Games.
Battle of the Blades is a Canadian figure skating reality show and competition that airs on CBC Television. The show originally aired for four seasons between 2009 and 2013. It was revived for a fifth season in 2019. It was first broadcast before a live audience at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. With Maple Leaf Gardens under renovation however, the show was filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios in season two. The venue moved again in season three to MasterCard Centre located in Etobicoke, Ontario. For the revived fifth season in 2019, the venue was at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. The venue changed again in the sixth season to the CAA Centre, located in Brampton, Ontario.
Brandon Michael Frazier is an American pair skater. With his skating partner, Alexa Knierim, he is the 2022 World champion, the 2023 World silver medalist, a 2022 Olympic gold medalist in the figure skating team event, the 2022 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time U.S. National champion, and a three-time Grand Prix gold medalist.
Alexa Paige Knierim is an American pair skater. With her skating partner, Brandon Frazier, she is the 2022 World champion, the 2023 World silver medalist, a 2022 Olympic gold medalist in the figure skating team event, the 2022 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time U.S. National champion, and a three-time Grand Prix gold medalist.
The 2022 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Montpellier, France, from March 21–27, 2022. Figure skaters competed for the title of world champion in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The competition was used to determine the entry quotas for each federation at the 2023 World Championships.
