ISU Challenger Series

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

StatusActive
FrequencyAnnual
CountriesVaries
ISU Challenger Series
Logo of the ISU Challenger Series
StatusActive
FrequencyAnnual
CountriesVaries
Inaugurated2014–15 ISU Challenger Series
Previous event2025–26 Challenger Series
Next event2026–27 Challenger Series
Organized byInternational Skating Union

The ISU Challenger Series is a series of ten international figure skating competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) and organized by ISU member nations. The series was introduced in 2014; its stated goal is to provide consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions, as well as opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level while also earning World Standing points. The Nebelhorn Trophy, the Nepela Memorial, and the Golden Spin of Zagreb have been regular competitions in the series since the beginning, as was the Finlandia Trophy until 2024. Skaters and teams are eligible to compete in up to three Challenger Series events each season, and their top two scores are combined to calculate their total Challenger Series scores.

The International Skating Union Council officially voted to create the Challenger Series at its February 2014 meeting.[1] Its stated goal is to ensure consistent organization and structure within a series of international competitions and to provide opportunities for senior-level skaters to compete at the international level while also earning World Standing points.[2] The original criteria for Challenger Series events were published in April 2014. Challenger Series events must be scheduled between August 1 and December 15. When an event is held as part of the Challenger Series, it must host at least three of the four disciplines (men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance), and representatives from at least twelve different member nations. The minimum number of entrants required for each discipline was fifteen skaters each in men's singles and women's singles, eight teams in pair skating, and ten teams in ice dance. Each member nation is eligible to enter up to three skaters or teams per discipline in each competition.[3] The eleven inaugural competitions were announced in June 2014.[4] Modified criteria were released in August 2014. The minimum number of required entrants was lowered to eight skaters each in men's singles and women's singles, five teams in pair skating, and six teams in ice dance.[5] The 2014 Triglav Trophy was ultimately dropped from the schedule, resulting in a series composed of ten events.[6]

Slate of 2014 ISU Challenger Series competitions[6]
Date Event Location
September 10–14 United States 2014 U.S. International Classic Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
September 18–21 Italy 2014 Lombardia Trophy Sesto San Giovanni, Italy
September 25–27 Germany 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy Oberstdorf, Germany
October 2–5 Slovakia 2014 Ondrej Nepela Trophy Bratislava, Slovakia
October 9–12 Finland 2014 Finlandia Trophy Espoo, Finland
October 15–18 Canada 2014 Autumn Classic International Barrie, Ontario, Canada
November 5–9 Latvia 2014 Volvo Open Cup Riga, Latvia
November 11–16 Austria 2014 Ice Challenge Graz, Austria
November 21–24 Poland 2014 Warsaw Cup Warsaw, Poland
December 4–7 Croatia 2014 Golden Spin of Zagreb Zagreb, Croatia

In February 2016, the ISU declared that the Nebelhorn Trophy, the Finlandia Trophy, the Ondrej Nepela Trophy, and the Golden Spin of Zagreb would constitute a "core group" of Challenger Series events in recognition of their long-standing tradition. The ISU also mandated that one Challenger Series event each season must be held in either Canada or the United States. Beyond that, member nations were invited to apply for the remaining five host slots. While member nations were still limited to sending a maximum of three skaters or teams per discipline to each event, a host nation could enter an unlimited number of entrants to their own event. Additionally, each skater or team was limited to participating in at most three Challenger Series events each season.[7]

A full slate of competitions was originally scheduled for the 2020 Challenger Series; however, all but two of the events – the 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy and the 2020 Budapest Trophy – were ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 13, 2020, the ISU announced that any remaining Challenger Series events would be treated as separate individual competitions rather than part of a series. As a result, no Challenger Series ranking would be determined and no prize money distributed at the end of the series, although skaters could still earn Challenger Series points to apply toward their world rankings.[8] However, the ISU later revised their decision on August 3, announcing that world ranking points would not be awarded due to the limited nature of the competitions.[9]

Events

The ISU Challenger Series has included the following competitions:

  • Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy: Nations in Southeast Asia rotate as host nation each year. The inaugural edition was held in 2007 in Taipei City. The Asian Open Trophy was a Challenger Series event in 2018 and 2019.[10] The Asian Open Figure Skating Classic, scheduled to be hosted by the Chinese Taipei Skating Union in Taipei City, was originally intended to be a Challenger Series event in 2019.[11] However, in July 2019, the ISU revoked the Chinese Taipei Skating Union's right to hold a Challenger Series event, and instead granted the rights to the Asian Open Trophy, which was hosted that year in Dongguan, China.[12] The Asian Open Trophy was intended to be a Challenger Series event in 2021; however, as only the men's and women's singles events featured international participants and the total number of ISU member nations represented at the event only totaled nine, it did not meet the criteria to qualify for Challenger Series status.[13]
  • Budapest Trophy: The Budapest Trophy is organized and hosted by the Hungarian National Skating Federation at the Vasas Jégcentrum in Budapest.[17] The inaugural edition was intended to be the sixth event of the 2020 Challenger Series; however, all but two of the events (the Nebelhorn Trophy and the Budapest Trophy) were ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition was held under strict conditions for admittance.[18] The Budapest Trophy has been held every year since, although the 2021 and 2025 editions were not part of the Challenger Series.[19]
  • Denis Ten Memorial Challenge: The Denis Ten Memorial Challenge is organized and hosted by the Denis Ten Foundation and the Kazakhstan Skating Union.[27] It is named in honor of Denis Ten, a former figure skater who competed internationally for Kazakhstan.[28] The inaugural edition was held in 2019 in Almaty.[29] The competition was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[30] In 2021, the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge was the seventh event of the Challenger Series,[31] and it has been a Challenger Series event every year since.[32]
  • Denkova-Staviski Cup: The Denkova-Staviski Cup is organized and hosted by the Bulgarian Skating Federation and the Denkova-Staviski Skating Club at the Winter Sports Palace in Sofia.[33] The competition debuted in 2012,[34] and is named in honor of Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski, who competed internationally in ice dance for Bulgaria.[35] In 2015, the Denkova-Staviski Cup was the sixth event of the Challenger Series. It has been held every year since 2012,[34] except for 2020 and 2021, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[36][37]
  • Finlandia Trophy: The Finlandia Trophy was organized and hosted by Skating Finland. The competition debuted in 1995 in Helsinki,[38] and when the ISU launched the Challenger Series in 2014, the Finlandia Trophy was one of the inaugural competitions.[6] The Finlandia Trophy was a Challenger Series event consistently through 2023,[39] except in 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[40] Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ISU also ordered that no international competitions be held in Russia or Belarus. Therefore, the Rostelecom Cup, which had been scheduled for November, was cancelled.[41] Finland was chosen to host the replacement event: the Grand Prix of Espoo.[42] Finland hosted both the Grand Prix of Espoo and the Finlandia Trophy in 2022 and 2023,[43] but beginning in 2024, Skating Finland chose to focus its resources on the Grand Prix event, to which it bestowed the Finlandia Trophy name.[44] Therefore, the last installment of the Finlandia Trophy as a Challenger Series event took place in 2023.[39]
  • Golden Spin of Zagreb: The Golden Spin of Zagreb is organized and hosted by the Croatian Skating Federation at the Klizalište Velesajem in Zagreb.[45] The competition debuted in 1967 when Zagreb was part of Yugoslavia, but no competition was held in 1991 owing to the Croatian War of Independence. The Golden Spin of Zagreb continued as a Croatian event beginning in 1992.[46] When the ISU launched the Challenger Series in 2014, the Golden Spin of Zagreb was one of the inaugural competitions.[6] It has been a Challenger Series event ever since,[47] except for 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[48]
  • Ice Challenge: The Ice Challenge – held in 2021 as the Cup of Austria – is organized and hosted by the Grazer Eislaufverein and Skate Austria at the Eisstadion Liebenau in Graz. The competition debuted as an international event in 2009; prior to that, it had been a national event called the Leo-Scheu-Gedächtnislaufen, named in honor of Leo Scheu, the first president of the Grazer Eislaufverein.[49] When the ISU launched the Challenger Series in 2014, the Ice Challenge was one of the inaugural competitions.[6] The Ice Challenge has been held several times since 2014, but was a Challenger Series event only in 2015, 2021, and 2022.[50] It was scheduled to be a Challenger Series event in 2023 before the Grazer Eislaufverein cancelled the competition.[51]
  • Ice Star: The Ice Star – originally called the Minsk-Arena Ice Star – was organized and hosted by the Skating Union of Belarus at the Minsk-Arena in Minsk. The competition debuted in 2012, and was a Challenger Series event twice during its history: in 2017 and 2019.[52] Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ISU banned all athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus from participating at any international competitions.[53] As such, the 2021 Ice Star was the last iteration of the competition to be held.[52]
  • Lombardia Trophy: The Lombardia Trophy is organized and hosted by the Italian Ice Sports Federation.[61] The competition debuted in 2013 in Sesto San Giovanni,[62] and when the ISU launched the Challenger Series in 2014, the Lombardia Trophy was one of the inaugural competitions.[6] The Lombardia Trophy has been a Challenger Series event ten times during its history as of 2025.[62] No competition was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although it had already been left off the slate of competitions for the 2020 Challenger Series.[25] From 2013 to 2015, the competition was held in Sesto San Giovanni; since 2016, it has been held in Bergamo.[62]
  • Nebelhorn Trophy: The Nebelhorn Trophy is organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union at the Eissportzentrum Oberstdorf in Oberstdorf.[64] The competition debuted in 1968,[65] and is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain.[66] When the ISU launched the Challenger Series in 2014, the Nebelhorn Trophy was one of the inaugural competitions.[6] It has been a Challenger Series every year since.[67]
  • Nepela Memorial: The Nepela Memorial – originally called the Ondrej Nepela Memorial – is organized and hosted by the Slovak Figure Skating Association at the Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava.[68] The competition debuted in 1993 and is named in honor of Ondrej Nepela, a former Slovak figure skater who competed internationally for Czechoslovakia.[69] When the ISU launched the Challenger Series in 2014, the Nepela Memorial – at that point called the Ondrej Nepela Trophy – was one of the inaugural competitions.[6] The Nepela Memorial has been a Challenger Series event every year since,[70] except for 2020 and 2021, when the competitions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[71][72]
  • Tallinn Trophy: The Tallinn Trophy is organized and hosted by the Estonian Skating Union at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn.[73] It debuted in 2002 as a regional competition,[74] before expanding as an international event in 2011 and joining the Challenger Series in 2015. The Tallinn Trophy was a Challenger Series event from 2015 through 2018, and again beginning in 2024.[75] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Tallinn Trophy was held exclusively for skaters in Estonia.[76]
  • Triglav Trophy: The Triglav Trophy is organized and hosted by the Slovene Skating Union at the Podmežakla Hall in Jesenice.[78] When the ISU launched the Challenger Series in 2014, the Triglav Trophy was intended to be one of the inaugural events;[4] however, it was dropped from the schedule.[6] The competition was still held, but not as a Challenger Series event. Despite being held nearly every year since, it has never been added to the Challenger Series calendar.[79]
  • Ukrainian Open: The Ukrainian Open, organized and hosted by the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation, was scheduled to be held in November 2016 in Kyiv.[83] However, the event was cancelled.[84]
  • Volvo Open Cup: The Volvo Open Cup is organized and hosted by the Kristal Ice Figure Skating Club and the Latvian Figure Skating Association at the Volvo Sport Center in Riga.[89] It was a Challenger Series event in 2014, for what was the Volvo Open Cup's twenty-fifth anniversary.[90]
  • Warsaw Cup: The Warsaw Cup is organized and hosted by the Polish Figure Skating Association at the Arena COS Torwar in Warsaw.[91] The inaugural edition of the Warsaw Cup was held in 2002,[92] and was exclusively a junior-level competition until 2010, when senior-level events began to be hosted as well.[93] When the ISU launched the Challenger Series in 2014, the Warsaw Cup was one of the inaugural competitions.[6] Now exclusively a senior-level competition, the Warsaw Cup was a Challenger Series event from 2014 to 2017. The Warsaw Cup was held in 2018, but not as part of the Challenger Series. It returned to the Challenger Series in 2019.[94] No competition was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[95] The competition returned in 2021 and has been a Challenger Series event ever since.[94]
Challenger Series seasons
Competition Nation 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Asian Open Trophy Varies Not a Challenger Series event Yes Yes Cancelled Not a Challenger Series event
Autumn Classic Int'l  Canada Yes Not a Challenger Series event Yes Yes Yes Yes Cancelled Yes N/a Yes N/a
Budapest Trophy  Hungary N/a Yes Not a Challenger Series event Yes Yes Yes Not a Challenger Series event
Cranberry Cup Int'l  United States N/a Not a Challenger Series event Yes Yes
Cup of Tyrol  Austria N/a Not a Challenger Series event Cancelled N/a
Denis Ten Memorial Challenge  Kazakhstan N/a Not a Challenger Series event Cancelled Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Denkova-Staviski Cup  Bulgaria Not a Challenger Series event Yes Not a Challenger Series event N/a Not a Challenger Series event
Finlandia Trophy  Finland Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cancelled Yes Yes Yes Grand Prix event
Golden Spin of Zagreb  Croatia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cancelled Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ice Challenge  Austria Yes Yes N/a Not a Challenger Series event N/a Yes Yes Cancelled Not a Challenger Series event
Ice Star  Belarus N/a Not a Challenger Series event Yes Not a Challenger Series event Yes Not a Challenger Series event N/a
Inge Solar Memorial  Austria N/a Yes N/a
John Nicks Pairs Challenge  United States N/a Not a Challenger Series event Yes Yes
Kinoshita Group Cup  Japan N/a Yes
Lombardia Trophy  Italy Yes Not a Challenger Series event Yes Yes Yes Yes N/a Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mordovian Ornament  Russia N/a Yes N/a
Nebelhorn Trophy  Germany Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nepela Memorial  Slovakia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cancelled Cancelled Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tallinn Trophy  Estonia Not a Challenger Series event Yes Yes Yes Yes Not a Challenger Series event N/a Not a Challenger Series event Yes Yes
Trialeti Trophy  Georgia N/a Yes
Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur  France Not a Challenger Series event N/a Not a Challenger Series event Yes Not a Challenger Series event
Ukrainian Open  Ukraine N/a Cancelled N/a
U.S. Int'l Classic  United States Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/a Not a Challenger Series event Yes N/a
Volvo Open Cup  Latvia Yes Not a Challenger Series event N/a Not a Challenger Series event
Warsaw Cup  Poland Yes Yes Yes Yes Not a Challenger Series event Yes Cancelled Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ref. [6] [96] [83] [97] [98] [99] [25] [31] [100] [101] [82] [22]

Top three finishers per season

Each skater or team is permitted to compete in up to three ISU Challenger Series events. The two highest scores received determine their final ranking.[3]

Men's singles

Top ranked skaters in men's singles
Season First Second Third Refs.
2014–15 Czech Republic Michal Březina Russia Alexander Petrov Russia Konstantin Menshov [102]
2015–16 United States Jason Brown United States Max Aaron Russia Mikhail Kolyada [103]
2016–17 Russia Alexander Petrov United States Max Aaron [104]
2017–18 Russia Mikhail Kolyada Russia Sergei Voronov Georgia (country) Morisi Kvitelashvili [105]
2018–19 South Korea Cha Jun-hwan United States Jason Brown [106]
2019–20 Russia Dmitri Aliev Italy Daniel Grassl Japan Sōta Yamamoto [107]
2020–21 No World Standing points awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic [9]
2021–22 Russia Petr Gumennik Canada Keegan Messing Russia Mark Kondratiuk [108]
2022–23 France Kévin Aymoz Switzerland Lukas Britschgi Italy Matteo Rizzo [109]
2023–24 Switzerland Lukas Britschgi China Jin Boyang Georgia (country) Nika Egadze [110]
2024–25 Italy Daniel Grassl Estonia Mihhail Selevko [111]
2025–26 Georgia (country) Nika Egadze United States Jason Brown France Kévin Aymoz [112]

Women's singles

Top ranked skaters in women's singles
Season First Second Third Refs.
2014–15 Russia Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Russia Alena Leonova United States Hannah Miller [113]
2015–16 Russia Anna Pogorilaya Russia Adelina Sotnikova [114]
2016–17 United States Mirai Nagasu United States Mariah Bell [115]
2017–18 Italy Carolina Kostner Russia Stanislava Konstantinova Russia Elizaveta Tuktamysheva [116]
2018–19 Russia Elizaveta Tuktamysheva United States Bradie Tennell Kazakhstan Elizabet Tursynbayeva [117]
2019–20 South Korea You Young South Korea Lim Eun-soo [118]
2020–21 No World Standing points awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic [9]
2021–22 United States Alysa Liu Georgia (country) Anastasiia Gubanova Poland Ekaterina Kurakova [119]
2022–23 South Korea Kim Ye-lim Poland Ekaterina Kurakova United States Lindsay Thorngren [120]
2023–24 South Korea Kim Chae-yeon Georgia (country) Anastasiia Gubanova Poland Ekaterina Kurakova [121]
2024–25 United States Elyce Lin-Gracey United States Sarah Everhardt United States Isabeau Levito [122]
2025–26 Japan Mone Chiba United States Isabeau Levito Italy Lara Naki Gutmann [123]

Pairs

Top ranked skaters in pairs
Season First Second Third Refs.
2014–15
  • United States
[124]
2015–16 [125]
2016–17 [126]
2017–18 [127]
2018–19 [128]
2019–20 [129]
2020–21 No World Standing points awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic [9]
2021–22 [130]
2022–23 [131]
2023–24 [132]
2024–25 [133]
2025–26 [134]

Ice dance

Top ranked skaters in ice dance
Season First Second Third Refs.
2014–15 [135]
2015–16 [136]
2016–17 [137]
2017–18 [138]
2018–19 [139]
2019–20 [140]
2020–21 No World Standing points awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic [9]
2021–22 [141]
2022–23 [142]
2023–24 [143]
2024–25 [144]
2025–26 [145]

Top scoring skaters per season

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI