ISU Provisional Allotments for 2024-2028

[Debbie S]

It also looks like the GP season will start one week earlier than usual.

No, it's the same timeline. This year's SA dates were 10/18-10/20.

 

[Skate Talker]

I imagine the start date for the Grand Prix series is determined by making sure the Final will fall on the first weekend of December.

 

[Karen-W]

It also looks like the GP season will start one week earlier than usual.

No, it's the way the calendar falls next year, same as this year. The 3rd GP was the first full weekend of November this year.

Does that mean it will not be Nebelhorn?

Yes. It will be a separate, stand-alone competition without WS points.

If it was not broke, why fix it?

Nebelhorn is part of the Challenger Series and using it for the OQE means limiting entries to it to just 1 per country in each discipline, and only for countries attempting to qualify for the Olympics. Federations are increasingly using the early Challenger events as a testing ground for top skaters to try out their programs ahead of the GP season, plus those are opportunities for skaters to earn SBs, which can put them in a position to qualify for GP assignments the following season.

Just because you may not think it is broken doesn't mean that using Nebelhorn as the OQE was actually the best option available. I'm sure the skaters who will be traveling to Beijing will be excited to compete in an actual Olympic FS venue.

 

[Sylvia]

ISU Communication No. 2665 (link now broken) originally was posted in this thread in September:

... the ISU is looking for a member country to host an Olympic Qualifying Event in the fall of 2025.

This is the new link (on the new ISU website) to ISU Communication No. 2665 - Application to host the ISU Figure Skating Olympic Qualifying Competition (August 27, 2024): https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.az...pdf/2665_FSK_OWG_Qual_Comp_20251731319276.pdf

Karen-W has updated the 2026 Olympics qualification info thread with this info: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ting-qualification.111830/page-2#post-6703794

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Why do you think it wasn’t broke?

Were there problems with Nebelhorn being the qualifying event before? I wasn’t aware of anything.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

No, it's the same timeline. This year's SA dates were 10/18-10/20.

No skate Canada, which is normally the second event usually happens on Halloween or around November 1. Now the third event happens at Halloween.

I’ve never flown to a skate America on October 16 or 17th. Too early

 

[Karen-W]

No skate Canada, which is normally the second event usually happens on Halloween or around November 1. Now the third event happens at Halloween.

I’ve never flown to a skate America on October 16 or 17th. Too early

It is, literally, the same exact calendar as this season. SkAm is the 3rd weekend of October, the 2nd GP is the last weekend of October. It is a function of how the days of the month are falling on the calendar that you believe it is earlier than usual.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

No skate Canada, which is normally the second event usually happens on Halloween or around November 1. Now the third event happens at Halloween.

I’ve never flown to a skate America on October 16 or 17th. Too early

My dad’s birthday is the 16th and I remember flying out that day a couple times.

 

[Aceon6]

Am I the only one seeing that the Asian and North American event scheduling will benefit rich federations who have people qualified for two GPs? I can see people staying in Asia for the tweener week, same with NA.

 

[kwanfan1818]

They’d have to find ice time. In Japan it seems like you’d need a connection, because ice time isn’t plentiful, and I’m not sure how possible/practical that would be in China, although I think I read here that Chen Lu coaches at a private rink. Maybe Korea? Australia?

 

[Karen-W]

Am I the only one seeing that the Asian and North American event scheduling will benefit rich federations who have people qualified for two GPs? I can see people staying in Asia for the tweener week, same with NA.

Why assume that the skaters/teams with 2 GPs will automatically be assigned to SkAm-SCI or CoC-NHK? Most skaters seem to prefer at least 2 or 3 weeks between competitions. I think it's likely we'll see lots of skaters with a SkAm-NHK double, a CoC-GPdF double, or a SCI-Finlandia double.

I'd say the only skaters who are likely to want a SkAm-SCI double are the ones who train in NA, and the ones who are likely to want a CoC-NHK double are the ones who train in Asia. I could see Ilia asking for SkAm-SCI and Yuma & Kaori asking for CoC-NHK.

 

[Sylvia]

From pages 9-10 of the 2024-25 ISU Grand Prix Announcement: https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.az...juozus1fwsub1n1ei3rrt3oy0djuv45f5eznv0ycy.pdf

7.5. Expenses
For the 2024/25 season, the invited ISU Member is responsible for the air ticket(s) of its invited
Skaters/Couples and Judges to each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event. To help offset the expense of
the air ticket(s), the Organizing ISU Member will pay a travel contribution determined by the Organizing ISU
Member based on economy airfare rate for all Skaters/Couples and Judges invited to its ISU Grand Prix of
Figure Skating event from their training site or gateway city in their country to the event and return. This travel
contribution will be determined and communicated to the ISU Members of the Invited Skaters/Couples and
Judges at the time of the invitation (see 3.1 and 3.2). The travel contribution will be paid to the ISU Member
after the end of the respective ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event, based on the procedures outlined in
the invitation. The travel expenses of the Referees, Technical Controllers, Technical Specialists and the Data
& Replay Operators are covered by the ISU.

Referees, Technical Controllers, Technical Specialists and the Data & Replay Operators must receive
confirmation and approval of the ISU Secretariat if they wish to purchase their own tickets.

The Organizing ISU Member will pay accommodation and meal expenses for all Skaters/Couples, Referees,
Technical Specialists, Technical Controllers, Data & Replay Operators and Judges from dinner on the day
preceding the first official practice through breakfast on the day after the Exhibition (in case of no Exhibition
held then the day after the last competition). This period may be extended due to individual flight arrangements.

If a Skater/Couple (seeded or non-seeded) or Judge does not start an event, that Skater/Couple’s or
Judge’s ISU Member is obligated to cover the expenses for travel, accommodation and meals for the
Skater/Couple or Judge.

 

[peibeck]

The 24-25 GP schedule is (for two seasons in a row now), extremely rude to mesh with my payroll closeouts.

And P.S. USFSA, we're tired of our GP always going first. But that doesn't mean we need SKAM the same weekend as Thanksgiving, like the last (and only time I can recall in recent years) time it wasn't the first GP event.

 

[Vagabond]

They’d have to find ice time. In Japan it seems like you’d need a connection, because ice time isn’t plentiful, and I’m not sure how possible/practical that would be in China, although I think I read here that Chen Lu coaches at a private rink. Maybe Korea? Australia?

The flying times from places such as Shanghai and Tokyo to Melbourne, for example, are not much shorter, if at all, than those to North American and European destinations such as Los Angeles and Frankfurt.

 

[Karen-W]

The 24-25 GP schedule is (for two seasons in a row now), extremely rude to mesh with my payroll closeouts.

And P.S. USFSA, we're tired of our GP always going first. But that doesn't mean we need SKAM the same weekend as Thanksgiving, like the last (and only time I can recall in recent years) time it wasn't the first GP event.

I think the USFS prefers to go first because Sectionals are always in mid-November.

 

[peibeck]

I think the USFS prefers to go first because Sectionals are always in mid-November.

Logic does not make a difference in WANTS, @Karen-W

 

[kwanfan1818]

The flying times from places such as Shanghai and Tokyo to Melbourne, for example, are not much shorter, if at all, than those to North American and European destinations such as Los Angeles and Frankfurt.

The time zone difference is, however 3 hours between Shanghai and Melbourne or 2 hours between Seoul and Melbourne, not 16 hours behind LA/ 17 hours behind Seoul, or 7 hours behind Paris/8 hours behind Seoul.

For the same amount of travel time, and possibly on better airlines, they don't have to get their internal clocks out of whack twice. Although they'd have to adjust to Spring/Summer in Australia.

 

[Hindernisse]

I'm doing some research and would appreciate your help. Is there a way to check if Baku, AZ has applied to host any ISU Championships in the coming years? I know that they finally built an arena and they've already been awarded a JGP. Having AZ host an ISU Championships would open a totally different set of problems and I'd like to know if there is a need to try doing something about it before it's too late.

 

[Vagabond]

I'm doing some research and would appreciate your help. Is there a way to check if Baku, AZ has applied to host any ISU Championships in the coming years? I know that they finally built an arena and they've already been awarded a JGP. Having AZ host an ISU Championships would open a totally different set of problems and I'd like to know if there is a need to try doing something about it before it's too late.

This isn't a new arena; it's the arena that opened in 1990 and fell into disrepair three years later. The government has finally fixed it up.

The Little-Noticed Demise of Figure Skating in Azerbaijan

I'm curious as to what the results would have been if not only everyone had skated cleanly, but if the event took place in Azerbaijan.... This post in Sybil's thread in The Trash Can prompted me to do a little searching on the subject of figure skating in Azerbaijan. I came across this article...

www.fsuniverse.net

Heydar Aliyev Sports and Concert Complex - Wikiwand

The Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex is the main exhibition space of Baku, Azerbaijan. Named after the former President Heydar Aliyev), it is located...

www.wikiwand.com

 

[lexeoe]

has the olympic qualifying host been announced? just been out of the loop.

 

[Debbie S]

has the olympic qualifying host been announced? just been out of the loop.

Beijing

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

has the olympic qualifying host been announced? just been out of the loop.

Yes, China

 

[lexeoe]

oops. really been out of the loop.

 

[Hanna]

Didn't see it on the ISU skating site yet but 2027 Worlds will be in Tampere, Finland. March 15th-21st. https://www.skatingfinland.fi/tapahtumat/suomelle-vuoden-2027-taitoluistelun-mm-kilpailut/

ETA: https://www.isu.org/news/isu-counci...-isu-world-figure-skating-championships-2027/

 

[Debbie S]

Didn't see it on the ISU skating site yet but 2027 Worlds will be in Tampere, Finland. March 15th-21st. https://www.skatingfinland.fi/tapahtumat/suomelle-vuoden-2027-taitoluistelun-mm-kilpailut/

Interesting. I would have thought Japan would be hosting another post-Oly year Worlds. Good for Finland. I wonder if Japan will host in 2028.

 

[Hanna]

Interesting. I would have thought Japan would be hosting another post-Oly year Worlds. Good for Finland. I wonder if Japan will host in 2028.

IIRC Japan didn't apply for 2027. Or 2028 for that matter - they have their eyes set on 2029 instead.

 

[allezfred]

Didn't see it on the ISU skating site yet but 2027 Worlds will be in Tampere, Finland. March 15th-21st. https://www.skatingfinland.fi/tapahtumat/suomelle-vuoden-2027-taitoluistelun-mm-kilpailut/

ICH KOMME

 

[Karen-W]

IIRC Japan didn't apply for 2027. Or 2028 for that matter - they have their eyes set for 2029 instead.

That's the working theory. Japan may not care much as long as they keep on getting the GPF/JGPF hosting rights during the Olympic season.

 

[Karen-W]

Didn't see it on the ISU skating site yet but 2027 Worlds will be in Tampere, Finland. March 15th-21st. https://www.skatingfinland.fi/tapahtumat/suomelle-vuoden-2027-taitoluistelun-mm-kilpailut/

Here's the ISU Press Release -

ISU Council strengthens Ice Skating’s future with key event decisions: Finland set to host ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2027

The ISU Council, in alignment with the ISU Vision 2030, continues to modernize and strengthen Ice Skating’s future by confirming an exciting line-up of future hosts. In addition to other key calendar updates, the Council approved the provisional allotment of Tampere, Finland as the host of the...

www.isu.org

In recognition of Boston’s success, the ISU Council also agreed to adopt a new collaborative hosting model for its competitions providing a more effective framework from bidding through appointment to delivery. First piloted in Boston, the new hosting model will offer greater support to organizers while creating even more vibrant, athlete-focused and fan-driven experiences worldwide.

They were very happy with the fan response & the new hosting model they piloted in Boston - changes are here to stay!

Also announced was the following:

The ISU just announced new dates for Skate America: Nov 14-16. This may be why USFS didn't already announce the venue--because they were waiting on this. Skate America and GP France are switching places on the GP schedule this fall.

ISU Council strengthens Ice Skating’s future with key event decisions

Grand Prix de France	Angers, FRA	October 17-19, 2025
Grand Prix Cup of China	TBC, CHN	October 24-26, 2025
Grand Prix Skate Canada International	Saskatoon, CAN	October 31-Nov. 2, 2025
Grand Prix NHK Trophy	TBC, JPN	November 7-9, 2025
Grand Prix Skate America	TBC, USA	November 14-16, 2025
Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy	Helsinki, FIN	November 21-23, 2025
Grand Prix Final	Nagoya, JPN	December 4-7, 2025

The ISU Congress for 2026 will be June 10-12 in Tenerife, Spain. They do love their warm, resort locales for that event, lol.

Additionally - Synchro Challenger Series schedule for next season was approved -

Britannia Cup Nottingham GBR January 9-10, 2026
Lumière Cup Eindhoven NED January 24-25, 2026
US Synchronized Skating International Classic Boston USA January 30-31, 2026
Marie Lundmark Trophy Turku, FIN February 7-8, 2026

Still no word on the FS Challenger Series events or schedule.

 

[Finnice]

ICH KOMME

Tervetuloa!