Figure skating season

Last updated

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.

Contents

Fall internationals

Fall international events have existed for decades. In 1995, the International Skating Union brought five of the most popular senior events together into a series offering prize money [1] in response to the then-success of professional skating. [2] The events were Skate America, Skate Canada International, Trophée de France, Nations Cup (later known as Sparkassen Cup and Bofrost Cup), and the NHK Trophy. [1] [2] They comprised the Champions Series, since renamed the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, and took up the fall. They concluded with a Final held in the spring before the World Championships in which the top six skaters in each discipline compete against each other. In 2001, the Final was moved to December. This led to the confusion of having two Finals within one calendar year. In 1996, a sixth event was added: the Cup of Russia. [3] The event in Germany was replaced in 2003 with the Cup of China.

Other internationals traditionally held in the fall exist independently of the Grand Prix circuit. In 2014, the ISU created the Challenger Series, a circuit of 10 senior events below the Grand Prix series, but above other international events. The series includes long-existing events such as the Nebelhorn Trophy, and offers prize money for the top three skaters or couples in the series. [4]

In 1997, the ISU instituted the ISU Junior Series, since renamed the ISU Junior Grand Prix, which contains more competitions than its senior counterpart. The Final was originally held in March, but was moved to December in 1999. The Junior Grand Prix currently holds its first competition in August and so kicks off the ISU calendar of competitions for the season. [5]

National championships

Most countries hold annual national championships, often referred to informally as "nationals". There is no set specific time in which national championships must be held. While some countries rely on the results of their nationals to choose the teams for the ISU Championships, others have more varied criteria depending on international placement or testing results.

ISU Championships

The ISU holds five championships every season. Currently, the first one to be held is the European Figure Skating Championships. It usually takes place in January. [3] The European Championships, often referred to informally as "Europeans", is the oldest of the five championships; it was first held in 1891 and sanctioned by the ISU in 1893. It is open to skaters from European member nations of the ISU. [6]

The next one held is the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. It usually takes place in early February. The Four Continents Championships were established in 1999 to be the equivalent of Europeans for skaters from non-European member nations. [3]

The World Junior Figure Skating Championships, often informally called "Junior Worlds" or "World Juniors", were for many years held in late November or December. Following the 1998–1999 season, they were moved to late February/early March, and have been held after the Four Continents Championships. Even when they were held before the New Year, the events were officially referred to by the next calendar year, and the champions are listed in results by that year. For example, Ilia Klimkin, who won it in November 1998, [7] is officially the 1999 World Junior champion. [8] By ISU regulation, the World Junior Championships should be held in the first half of March. [6] The World Junior Championships are open to skaters who fit into a certain age category. Currently, skaters must be between the ages of 13 and 19 (or 13 and 21 for the men in pairs and ice dance) in order to compete.

The World Figure Skating Championships, commonly referred to informally as "Worlds", are the next ISU Championship to be held. By ISU regulation, they must take place following the fourth Monday in February and there should be at least fourteen days between Worlds and the Four Continents Championships or European Championships, whichever happens later. [6] The first World Championship was held in 1896. The World Championships are open to all member nations of the ISU.

The final ISU Championship of the year is the World Synchronized Skating Championships.

The Olympics

Every four years, figure skating is contested at the Olympic Winter Games. The Olympics usually take place in February. Since the inception of the Four Continents Championships, both the European and Four Continents Championships have been held before the Olympics, with the World Junior Championships, World Championships, and World Synchronized Skating Championships occurring after.

Unlike in some other sports, there are World Championships in Olympic years.

Other competitions

Other international competitions take place throughout the season. These competitions do not hold the prestige of the Grand Prix or ISU championships, but have an ISU sanction. The international season typically ends with the Triglav Trophy, a competition for novice, junior, and senior-level skaters, held annually in April.

Club competitions take place over the year, with the largest usually taking place in the summer. Although summer club competitions can be large and attract high-level skaters, they are not prestigious events and do not count towards anything.

Seasons

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tong Jian</span> Chinese pair skater

Tong Jian is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Pang Qing, he is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, 2006 and 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pang Qing</span> Chinese figure skater

Pang Qing is a Chinese retired pair skater. With her husband Tong Jian, she is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, the 2006 and 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion.

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of senior international figure skating competitions organized by the International Skating Union. The invitational series was inaugurated in 1995, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deanna Stellato-Dudek</span> American pair skater

Deanna Stellato-Dudek is an American pair skater who currently competes with Maxime Deschamps for Canada. With Deschamps, she is the 2024 World champion, the 2024 Four Continents champion, 2023–24 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a three-time ISU Grand Prix gold medalist, a two-time ISU Challenger Series gold medalist, and two-time Canadian national champion (2023–2024). She is the oldest female figure skater to win a World title in any discipline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Ten</span> Kazakhstani figure skater (1993–2018)

Denis Yurievich Ten was a Kazakhstani figure skater. He was the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World medalist, the 2015 Four Continents champion, the 2017 Winter Universiade champion, and a five-time national champion of Kazakhstan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maia Shibutani</span> American ice dancer

Maia Harumi Shibutani is an American ice dancer. Partnered with her brother Alex Shibutani, she is a two time 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World medalist, the 2016 Four Continents champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. The siblings have won six titles on the Grand Prix series and stood on the podium at 14 consecutive U.S. Championships, at five levels including eight as seniors. They are two-time members of the US Olympic team, competing at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics. In 2018, the siblings became the first ice dancers who are both of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics. They are the second sibling duo to ever share an ice dancing Olympic medal, and the first from the United States. The Shibutani siblings are often referred to by their nickname the Shib Sibs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sui Wenjing</span> Chinese pair skater

Sui Wenjing is a retired Chinese pair skater. With partner Han Cong, she is the 2022 Olympic gold medalist, 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time world champion, a three-time world silver medalist, the 2019–20 Grand Prix Final champion, a six-time Four Continents champion and a two-time Chinese national champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Han Cong</span> Chinese pair skater

Han Cong is a Chinese pair skater. With partner Sui Wenjing, he is the 2022 Olympic gold medalist, 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time world champion, a three-time world silver medalist, the 2019–20 Grand Prix Final champion, a six-time Four Continents champion, a three-time World Junior champion (2010–2012), the 2009–10 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a two-time Chinese national champion. Sui and Han are the first pair skate team to achieve a Super Slam, having won all major competitions in both their senior and junior career. They have landed throw quadruple salchows and quadruple twists in competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Li Zijun</span> Chinese figure skater

Li Zijun is a Chinese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic bronze medalist and the 2014 Four Continents bronze medalist. Li is also the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, 2010 JGP Final bronze medalist, and a four-time (2011–2014) Chinese national champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yan Han (figure skater)</span> Chinese figure skater

Yan Han is a Chinese competitive figure skater. He is a three-time Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2013 Cup of China champion and a four-time Chinese national champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nam Nguyen</span> Canadian figure skater

Nam Nguyen is a Canadian retired competitive figure skater. He is the 2014 World Junior champion, 2019 Skate Canada silver medallist, and two-time Canadian national champion. He has placed as high as fifth at the World Championships, in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaitlin Hawayek</span> American ice dancer

Kaitlin Hawayek is an American ice dancer. With her skating partner, Jean-Luc Baker, she is the 2018 Four Continents champion, the 2018 NHK Trophy champion, and a four-time U.S. national bronze medalist (2019–22).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Ye-lim</span> South Korean figure skater

Kim Ye-lim is a South Korean figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents medalist, the 2022 NHK Trophy champion, 2022 Grand Prix de France silver medalist, the 2023 Winter World University Games bronze medalist, the 2023 World Team Trophy silver medalist and the 2021 South Korean national champion. She has also won three gold medals on the Challenger Series, and represented her country at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

This article contains lists of achievements in major international figure skating competitions according to first-place, second-place and third-place results obtained by skaters/teams representing different nations. The objective is not to create combined medal tables; the focus is on listing the best positions achieved by skaters/teams in major international competitions, ranking the nations according to the most number of podiums accomplished by skaters/teams of these nations. All five competitive disciplines currently recognized by the International Skating Union (ISU) are covered: 1) Men's single skating, 2) Women's single skating, 3) Pair skating, 4) Ice dance, and 5) Synchronized skating. The four disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating and ice dance also appeared as part of a team event at the Winter Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Hae-in (figure skater)</span> South Korean figure skater

Lee Hae-in is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2023 World silver medalist, the 2023 Four Continents champion, the 2022 Four Continents silver medalist, and a six-time South Korean national senior medalist. At the junior level, she is the 2019 JGP Latvia champion and the 2019 JGP Croatia champion.

Maxim Naumov is an American figure skater. He is the 2020 U.S. junior national champion and finished within the top five at the 2020 World Junior Championships.

The 2021 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were scheduled to be held from March 1–7, 2021 in Harbin, China. Figure skaters would have competed for the title of junior world champion in men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs, and ice dance. The competition would have determined the entry quotas for each federation during the 2021–22 ISU Junior Grand Prix series and at the 2022 World Junior Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships</span>

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.

The 2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held January 23–29, 2023, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels. The results were part of the U.S. selection criteria for the 2023 World Championships, 2023 World Junior Championships, the 2023 Four Continents Championship, and the 2023 World Team Trophy.

References

  1. 1 2 Smith, Beverley (1996). A Year In Figure Skating . McClelland & Stewart. ISBN   0-7710-2755-9.
  2. 1 2 Milton, Steve (1996). Skate: 100 Years of Figure Skating. Trafalgar Square Publishing. ISBN   1-57076-056-X.
  3. 1 2 3 Yamaguchi, Kristi; Christy Ness; Jody Meacham (1997). Figure Skating for Dummies. Hungry Minds. ISBN   0-7645-5084-5.
  4. ↑ "Challenger Series - International Skating Union".
  5. ↑ Single & Pair Skating/Ice Dance Calendar of Events
  6. 1 2 3 "ISU Constitution & General Regulations 2006" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. (793  KiB)
  7. ↑ "World Junior Figure Skating Championships 1999". Archived from the original on April 21, 1999. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
  8. ↑ "ISU Results: Men" (PDF). (3.0 bytes)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.