World Junior Figure Skating Championships
| World Junior Figure Skating Championships | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | International championship event |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Inaugurated | 1976 |
| Previous event | 2025 World Junior Championships |
| Next event | 2026 World Junior Championships |
| Organised by | International Skating Union |
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The first World Junior Championships were held in 1997 in Megève, France.
Currently, skaters competing at the junior level must be at least 13 years old, but not yet 19 (for singles skaters), 21 (for women competing in ice dance or pair skating), or 23 (for men competing in ice dance or pair skating) as of the previous July 1.
Adam Rippon of the United States currently holds the record for the most World Junior Championships won in men's singles (with two), while Mao Shimada of Japan holds the record in women's singles (with three). Natalia Krestianinova and Alexei Torchinski of the Soviet Union, and Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China, are tied for the most championships won in pair skating (with three each), while Luka Berulava of Georgia has also won three championships in pair skating, but with different partners. Elena Krykanova and Evgeni Platov of the Soviet Union hold the record in ice dance (with three).
The 2026 World Junior Championships will take place from March 2–8 in Tallinn, Estonia.[1]
History
[edit]The ISU adopted legislation in 1975 establishing the Junior Figure Skating Championships. The championships were established on a two-year trial basis with the understanding that if they were successful, they would be renamed the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. The inaugural World Junior Championships took place in Megève, France, in 1976. No skaters were permitted to compete who had previously competed at the European Championships, World Championships, or the Winter Olympics, nor could they have previously won a medal at any international senior-level competition. Those prohibitions were removed in 1980.[2] Mark Cockerell of the United States won the inaugural men's event, while Suzie Brasher of the United States won the inaugural women's event. Sherri Baier and Robin Cowan of Canada won the inaugural pairs event, and Kathryn Winter and Nicholas Slater of Great Britain won the inaugural ice dance event.[2]
Controversy arose at the 1977 World Junior Championships when South Africa entered skaters in the competition. The Soviet Union filed a written protest with the ISU demanding that South African skaters be barred from competing in response to South Africa's apartheid policies. When the ISU refused, the Soviet Union and members of the Warsaw Pact (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania) boycotted the competition.[2] In response, the ISU placed a "temporary restriction of not taking part in ISU championships" on skaters from South Africa, although South Africa was not expelled from the ISU.[2]
The competition was elevated to World status beginning in 1978, and the first official World Junior Championships were again held in Magève.[2]
The 2021 World Junior Championships were originally scheduled to be held in Harbin, China.[3] On November 24, 2020, the ISU announced the cancellation of the event, citing "the pandemic developments and related impact on the organizers and participants."[4] The World Junior Championships were the second ISU Championship event to be cancelled during the 2020–21 season, following the cancellation of the 2021 Four Continents Championships on October 16, 2020.[5] The 2020–21 ISU Junior Grand Prix series had also been cancelled earlier in the season, on July 20.[6] With the cancellation of the World Junior Championships, there was effectively no season for junior-level skaters during the 2020–21 season.[7]
Qualifying
[edit]Skaters may compete at the World Junior Championships if they represent a member nation of the International Skating Union and are selected by their federation. Member nations select their entries according to their own criteria. Some countries rely on the results of their national championships while others have more varied criteria, which may include success at certain international events or specific technical requirements. All of the selected skaters must have earned the minimum total element scores, which is determined and published each season by the ISU during the current or immediately previous season. The number of competitors eligible to compete from ISU member nations is determined by the accumulation of points "equal to the sum of placements of their Competitors who were entered in this preceding season's Championships".[8]
Currently, skaters competing at the junior level must be at least 13 years old, but not yet 19 (for singles skaters), 21 (for women competing in ice dance or pair skating), or 23 (for men competing in ice dance or pair skating) as of the previous July 1.[9]
Medalists
[edit]
Men's singles
[edit]
Women's singles
[edit]Pairs
[edit]
Ice dance
[edit]Records
[edit]
| Event | Most titles | Medal sweeps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | 2 | 2008–09 |  United States
|
2013 | |
| Women's singles | 3 | 2023–25 |  Russia
|
1996; 1998; 2013–14 | |
| United States
|
2007–08 | ||||
| Pairs | 3 | 1990–92 |  Soviet Union
|
1985–86 | |
| 3 | 2010–12 | Russia
|
2018–20 | ||
| 3[a] | 2022; 2024–25 | ||||
| Ice dance | 3 | 1984–86 | Soviet Union
|
1988 | |
- ^ Luka Berulava won three titles between 2022 and 2025; the first while partnered with Karina Safina and the last two with Anastasiia Metelkina.
Cumulative medal count
[edit]- Countries that no longer participate are indicated in italics.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 50 | 42 | 47 | 139 |
| 2 | United States | 50 | 38 | 44 | 132 |
| 3 | Soviet Union | 37 | 30 | 17 | 84 |
| 4 |  Japan | 17 | 14 | 16 | 47 |
| 5 |  Canada | 10 | 16 | 18 | 44 |
| 6 |  China | 8 | 4 | 9 | 21 |
| 7 |  East Germany | 4 | 4 | 6 | 14 |
| 8 |  Ukraine | 4 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| 9 |  Georgia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 |  France | 2 | 10 | 13 | 25 |
| 11 |  South Korea | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| 12 |  Great Britain | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 13 |  Czech Republic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 |  Italy | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 15 |  Australia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 16 |  Poland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 17 |  Israel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 |  Germany | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 19 | West Germany | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 20 |  Hungary | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 21 |  Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 22 |  Austria | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 |  Belgium | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Czechoslovakia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Estonia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Kazakhstan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 South Africa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 28 |  Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 29 |  Finland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (30 entries) | 196 | 196 | 195 | 587 | |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "2026 World Junior Figure Skating Championships". Golden Skate. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Hines, James R. (2006). Figure Skating: A History. University of Illinois Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-252-07286-4.
- ^ "Allotment of ISU Championships 2021". International Skating Union. October 16, 2018. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Update on ISU Event Calendar season 2020/21". International Skating Union. November 24, 2020. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ "Cancellation of ISU Four Continents Championships 2021 and Provisional Allotments of ISU Championships 2022 and 2023". International Skating Union. October 16, 2020. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022.
- ^ "ISU Junior Grand Prix Series 2020/21 Cancelled". International Skating Union. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021.
- ^ McCarvel, Nick (November 24, 2020). "ISU announces cancellation of world junior figure skating championships". Olympic Channel. Archived from the original on September 19, 2021.
- ^ "Special Regulations & Technical Rules". International Skating Union. 2022. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Intenational Skating Union – Constitution and General Regulations 2024" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2025. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ "World Junior Figure Skating Championships – Men" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "World Junior Figure Skating Championships". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 21, 2005. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2001". International Skating Union. September 16, 2001. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "2002 World Junior Figure Skating Championships". International Skating Union. March 9, 2002. Archived from the original on November 17, 2004. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "2003 World Junior Championships". International Skating Union. February 25, 2003. Archived from the original on January 10, 2005. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "2004 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships". International Skating Union. March 2, 2004. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2005". International Skating Union. March 5, 2005. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2006". International Skating Union. March 11, 2006. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 26, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on December 27, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 15, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 18, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2024". International Skating Union. March 2, 2024. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 26, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ "World Junior Figure Skating Championships – Ladies" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ "World Junior Figure Skating Championships – Pairs" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ "World Junior Figure Skating Championships – Dance" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
Works cited
[edit]- Hines, James R. (2006). Figure Skating: A History. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07286-4.
- Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
External links
[edit]- ISU Championship events
- World Junior Championships at Skating Scores
