2025 CS Nepela Memorial

The Nepela Memorial is named in honor of Ondrej Nepela, a Slovak figure skater who competed internationally for Czechoslovakia. He was the 1972 Olympic gold medalist, three-time World champion (1971–73), five-time European champion (1969–73), eight-time Czechoslovak national champion (1965–69, 1971–73),^[2] and the Slovak athlete of the 20th century.^[3]

The ISU Challenger Series was introduced in 2014. It is a series of international figure skating competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) and organized by ISU member nations. The objective was 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.^[4] The 2025–26 Challenger Series consisted of eleven events, of which the Nepela Memorial was the sixth.^[1]

The International Skating Union published the preliminary list of entrants on 2 September 2025.^[5][6][7]

Discipline	Withdrew			Ref.
	Date	Country	Skater(s)
Ice dance	15 September	Switzerland	Gina Zehnder Beda Leon Sieber	[8]
Men	16 September	United States	Camden Pulkinen	[9]
Ice dance	18 September	Italy	Noemi Maria Tali Noah Lafornara	[10]
	24 September	Finland	Juulia Turkkila Matthias Versluis	[11]
		Germany	Charise Matthaei Max Liebers
Men		Hungary	Aleksandr Vlasenko

Men and women competing in single skating first performed their short programs on Friday, 26 September.^[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds,^[12] the short program had to include the following elements:

For men: one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double jump or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and a step sequence using the full ice surface.^[13]

For women: one double or triple Axel; one triple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; one flying spin; one layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin without a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and one step sequence using the full ice surface.^[13]

Men and women performed their free skates on Saturday, 27 September.^[1] The free skate performance for both men and women could last no more than 4 minutes,^[12] and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.^[14]

Couples competing in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on Friday, 26 September.^[1] Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds,^[12] the theme of the rhythm dance this season was "music, dance styles, and feeling of the 1990s". Examples of applicable dance styles and music included, but were not limited to: pop, Latin, house, techno, hip-hop, and grunge.^[15] The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: one pattern dance step sequence, one choreographic rhythm sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence.^[15]

Couples then performed their free dances on Saturday, September2 7.^[1] The free dance could last no longer than 4 minutes,^[12] and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements.^[15]

All of the technical elements in any figure skating performance – such as jumps and spins – were assigned a predetermined base value and then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from –5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.^[16] Every Grade of Execution (GOE) from –5 to 5 was assigned a value (a percentage of the element's base value) as shown on the Scale of Values (SOV).^[17] For example, a triple Axel was worth a base value of 8.00 points, and a GOE of 3 was worth 2.40 points, so a triple Axel with a GOE of 3 earned 10.40 points.^[18] The judging panel's GOE for each element was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (the average after discarding the highest and lowest scores). The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total elements score.^[17] At the same time, the judges evaluated each performance based on three program components – skating skills, presentation, and composition – and assigned a score from 0.25 to 10 in 0.25-point increments.^[19] The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.^[20]

Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.^[22] The total element score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.^[23]