2020–21 ISU Challenger Series
Type:ISU Challenger Series
Date:September 9 – December 5, 2020
Season:2020–21
Previous:
2019–20 ISU Challenger Series
Next:
2021–22 ISU Challenger Series

The 2020–21 ISU Challenger Series was scheduled to be held from September 9 to December 5, 2020. It was the seventh season that the ISU Challenger Series, a group of senior-level international figure skating competitions, was held. Originally meant to be a series of ten events, the 2020–21 Challenger Series ended up featuring only two individual events, when eight events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The International Skating Union announcement on April 22, 2020 for the 2020–21 ISU Challenger Series issued the following caveat regarding the scheduling of the events:

"The above calendar, same as the calendar of other ISU series, is subject to a timely normalization of the coronavirus situation allowing the safe organization of ice skating events this Autumn. While the Challenger Series events remain the property of the organizing ISU Members who remain the key decision makers for those events, the ISU is closely monitoring the respective developments with the expectation and hope that the situation will be restored to normal as quickly as possible. The ISU will inform ISU Members in case of any development or related ISU recommendations and/or decision."[1]

On May 1, 2020, the International Skating Union established a working group, chaired by ISU Vice-president for Figure Skating Alexander Lakernik, to monitor the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Its responsibilities included determining the feasibility of holding events as scheduled, possibly behind closed doors, during the first half of the season, and the financial impact of any potential cancellations.[2] The ISU announced that a host federation must make a decision regarding potential cancellation of their event at least twelve weeks prior to the event.[3]

On May 16, the Slovak Figure Skating Association informed the ISU that it had cancelled all upcoming events that it was scheduled to host due to the ongoing pandemic, including the 2020 Nepela Memorial in Bratislava.[4]

On July 13, the ISU announced that the 2020–21 Challenger Series events would be regarded as separate individual competitions, rather than as a series; as a result, no Challenger Series ranking would be determined and no prize money would be distributed at the end of the series. However, skaters competing would still earn Challenger Series-level points for their world rankings, as long as the competition met ISU guidelines to qualify as a Challenger event.[5] The decision was later revised by the ISU council on August 3, announcing that world standing and ranking points would not be awarded for the sake of fairness due to the limited nature of the competitions.[6]

On July 13, the Japan Skating Federation announced that it would not assign any skaters to the Challenger Series, assuming the competitions proceeded as scheduled.[7]

On August 25, the German Ice Skating Union confirmed that 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy would be held as scheduled, but without spectators and would include extensive social distancing guidelines and procedures for the athletes and coaches in attendance.[8]

On August 28, the ISU removed the maximum entry limit of skaters or teams per country.[9]

Competitions

The series was intended to include the following events this season.[1] However, all but two competitions were ultimately cancelled.

On May 16, the ISU announced that the Slovak Figure Skating Association had cancelled the 2020 Nepela Memorial.[4] As of May 26, the event schedule announced for the 2020 Asian Open Trophy had been withdrawn.[10] On August 20, the Finnish Figure Skating Association cancelled the 2020 Finlandia Trophy.[11] On September 1, the 2020 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge was cancelled.[12] On November 3, Skate Austria cancelled the 2020 Cup of Tyrol.[13] On November 6, the ice dance portion of the 2020 Warsaw Cup was cancelled,[14] and on November 10, the Polish Figure Skating Association cancelled the Warsaw Cup entirely.[15] On February 13, the 2020 Autumn Classic International, originally described as having been "postponed", was removed from the official Skate Canada calendar.[16][17]

Date Event Location Notes Ref.
September 9–13 China 2020 Asian Open Trophy Cancelled [10]
September 16–19 Slovakia 2020 Nepela Memorial [4]
September 17–19 Canada 2020 Autumn Classic International [17]
September 23–26 Germany 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy Oberstdorf, Germany Details
October 8–11 Finland 2020 Finlandia Trophy Cancelled [11]
October 15–17 Hungary 2020 Budapest Trophy Budapest, Hungary No pairs Details
October 29 – November 1 Kazakhstan 2020 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge Cancelled [12]
November 12–15 Poland 2020 Warsaw Cup [15]
November 25–28 Austria 2020 Cup of Tyrol [18][13]
December 2–5 Croatia 2020 Golden Spin of Zagreb [19]

Medal summary

Men's singles

Competition Gold Silver Bronze Results
Germany Nebelhorn Trophy Latvia Deniss VasiļjevsItaly Gabriele FrangipaniSweden Nikolaj MajorovDetails
Hungary Budapest Trophy Italy Daniel GrasslTurkey Burak DemirboğaEstonia Aleksandr SelevkoDetails

Ladies’ singles

Competition Gold Silver Bronze Results
Germany Nebelhorn Trophy Estonia Eva-Lotta KiibusSwitzerland Alexia PaganiniFinland Jenni SaarinenDetails
Hungary Budapest Trophy Belgium Loena HendrickxEstonia Eva-Lotta KiibusBulgaria Alexandra FeiginDetails

Pairs

Competition Gold Silver Bronze Results
Germany Nebelhorn Trophy Italy Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo AmbrosiniGermany Annika Hocke / Robert KunkelFrance Cléo Hamon / Denys StrekalinDetails

Ice dance

Competition Gold Silver Bronze Results
Germany Nebelhorn Trophy Czech Republic Natálie Taschlerová / Filip TaschlerUnited Kingdom Sasha Fear / George WaddellUkraine Darya Popova / Volodymyr ByelikovDetails
Hungary Budapest Trophy Ukraine Alexandra Nazarova / Maxim NikitinGermany Katharina Müller / Tim DieckUnited Kingdom Sasha Fear / George WaddellDetails

Medal standings

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Italy2103
2 Estonia1113
3 Ukraine1012
4 Belgium1001
 Czech Republic1001
 Latvia1001
7 Germany0202
8 Great Britain0112
9  Switzerland0101
 Turkey0101
11 Bulgaria0011
 Finland0011
 France0011
 Sweden0011
Totals (14 entries)77721

Challenger Series rankings

Out of fairness to skaters impacted by travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ISU Council decided there would be no Challenger Series ranking this season.[10]

Top scores

Men's singles

Top 5 best scores in the men's combined total
No. Skater Nation Score Event
1 Deniss Vasiļjevs  Latvia 233.08 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
2 Daniel Grassl  Italy 233.04 2020 Budapest Trophy
3 Gabriele Frangipani 231.65 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
4 Nikolaj Majorov  Sweden 218.07
5 Maurizio Zandron  Austria 217.65
Top 5 best scores in the men's short program
No. Skater Nation Score Event
1 Daniel Grassl  Italy 82.27 2020 Budapest Trophy
2 Paul Fentz  Germany 81.86 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
3 Gabriele Frangipani  Italy 79.13
4 Matteo Rizzo 77.15
5 Maurizio Zandron  Austria 74.61
Top 5 best scores in the men's free skating
No. Skater Nation Score Event
1 Deniss Vasiļjevs  Latvia 159.83 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
2 Gabriele Frangipani  Italy 152.52
3 Daniel Grassl 150.77 2020 Budapest Trophy
4 Nikolaj Majorov  Sweden 145.53 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
5 Lukas Britschgi   Switzerland 143.53

Ladies' singles

Top 5 best scores in the ladies' combined total
No. Skater Nation Score Event
1 Loena Hendrickx  Belgium 198.87 2020 Budapest Trophy
2 Eva-Lotta Kiibus  Estonia 184.27
3 Alexandra Feigin  Bulgaria 172.68
4 Alexia Paganini   Switzerland 168.85 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
5 Júlia Láng  Hungary 166.55 2020 Budapest Trophy
Top 5 best scores in the ladies' short program
No. Skater Nation Score Event
1 Loena Hendrickx  Belgium 72.18 2020 Budapest Trophy
2 Eva-Lotta Kiibus  Estonia 65.37
3 Alexia Paganini   Switzerland 63.60 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
4 Nicole Schott  Germany 61.21
5 Alexandra Feigin  Bulgaria 60.90 2020 Budapest Trophy
Top 5 best scores in the ladies' free skating
No. Skater Nation Score Event
1 Loena Hendrickx  Belgium 126.69 2020 Budapest Trophy
2 Eva-Lotta Kiibus  Estonia 118.90
3 Alexandra Feigin  Bulgaria 111.78
4 Júlia Láng  Hungary 108.35
5 Jenni Saarinen  Finland 106.62 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy

Pairs

Top 5 best scores in the pairs' combined total
No. Team Nation Score Event
1 Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini  Italy 154.61 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
2 Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel  Germany 154.26
3 Cléo Hamon / Denys Strekalin  France 144.06
4 Elizaveta Zhuk / Martin Bidař  Czech Republic 143.03
5 Coline Keriven / Noël-Antoine Pierre  France 130.27
Top 5 best scores in the pairs' short program
No. Team Nation Score Event
1 Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nolan Seegert  Germany 63.97 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
2 Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel 60.55
3 Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini  Italy 58.32
4 Cléo Hamon / Denys Strekalin  France 51.27
5 Elizaveta Zhuk / Martin Bidař  Czech Republic 51.20
Top 5 best scores in the pairs' free skating
No. Team Nation Score Event
1 Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini  Italy 96.29 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
2 Annika Hocke / Robert Kunkel  Germany 93.71
3 Cléo Hamon / Denys Strekalin  France 92.79
4 Elizaveta Zhuk / Martin Bidař  Czech Republic 91.83
5 Coline Keriven / Noël-Antoine Pierre  France 88.26

Ice dance

Top 5 best scores in the combined total (ice dance)
No. Team Nation Score Event
1 Alexandra Nazarova / Maxim Nikitin  Ukraine 178.97 2020 Budapest Trophy
2 Katharina Müller / Tim Dieck  Germany 164.99
3 Natálie Taschlerová / Filip Taschler  Czech Republic 163.62 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
4 Sasha Fear / George Waddell  Great Britain 152.34 2020 Budapest Trophy
5 Darya Popova / Volodymyr Byelikov  Ukraine 148.60 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
Top 5 best scores in the rhythm dance
No. Team Nation Score Event
1 Alexandra Nazarova / Maxim Nikitin  Ukraine 71.75 2020 Budapest Trophy
2 Natálie Taschlerová / Filip Taschler  Czech Republic 64.28 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
3 Sasha Fear / George Waddell  Great Britain 62.69 2020 Budapest Trophy
4 Katharina Müller / Tim Dieck  Germany 62.23
5 Darya Popova / Volodymyr Byelikov  Ukraine 61.55 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
Top 5 best scores in the free dance
No. Team Nation Score Event
1 Alexandra Nazarova / Maxim Nikitin  Ukraine 107.22 2020 Budapest Trophy
2 Katharina Müller / Tim Dieck  Germany 102.76
3 Natálie Taschlerová / Filip Taschler  Czech Republic 99.34 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy
4 Sasha Fear / George Waddell  Great Britain 93.29
5 Darya Popova / Volodymyr Byelikov  Ukraine 87.05

References

  1. 1 2 "Figure Skating Challenger Series events season 2020/21 – Decisions of the ISU Council". International Skating Union. April 22, 2020.
  2. ↑ Morgan, Liam (May 1, 2020). "ISU creates COVID-19 working group for figure skating". Inside the Games.
  3. ↑ "Communication No. 2320: Decisions of the Council". International Skating Union. April 30, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 "Cancellation ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Kosice (SVK) and Challenger Series Nepela Memorial 2020, Bratislava (SVK)". International Skating Union. May 16, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Communication No. 2335: Decisions of the Council". International Skating Union. July 13, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Communication No. 2339: Decisions of the Council". International Skating Union. August 3, 2020.
  7. ↑ Japan Skating Federation [@skatingjapan] (July 13, 2020). "新型コロナウイルス感染症の情勢を考慮し、フィギュアスケートのISU ジュニアグランプリ大会およびチャレンジャーシリーズ大会への派遣中止を決定いたしました。" [Considering the new coronavirus infectious disease situation, we have decided to stop dispatching figure skaters to ISU Junior Grand Prix competition and Challenger Series competition.] (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ "52nd Nebelhorn Trophy 2020 – Oberstdorf: Information Guideline" (PDF). German Ice Skating Union. August 25, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Communication No. 2345: Decisions of the Council". International Skating Union. August 28, 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 "Challenger Series General Announcement 2020/21". International Skating Union. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  11. 1 2 "Finlandia Trophy Espoo is canceled; The Finnish Figure Skating Association wants to organize the competition virtually". Finnish Figure Skating Association. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  12. 1 2 "Denis Ten Memorial Challenge". International Skating Union. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Skate Austria (November 3, 2020). "‼️Cup of Tyrol 2020 & 25. Eiscup cancelled ⛸🏆❌" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  14. ↑ "ISU CS Warsaw Cup 2020: Ice Dance (cancelled as of Nov. 6, 2020)". November 6, 2020.
  15. 1 2 "ISU Challenger Series Warsaw Cup 2020: CANCELLED". Polish Figure Skating Association. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Event Schedule: Hosted Events". Skate Canada. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  17. 1 2 Gallagher, Jack (February 13, 2021). "[ICE TIME] Exclusive: Legendary Choreographer David Wilson Calls for New Leadership at Skate Canada". Japan Forward. Following the cancellation of last year's world championships in Montreal...Skate Canada proceeded to cancel the Junior Grand Prix in British Columbia in August, the Autumn Classic International in Oakville, Ontario, in September, and Skate Canada International in Ottawa in October, before pulling the plug on the nationals.
  18. ↑ "Cup of Tyrol". International Skating Union. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  19. ↑ "53rd Golden Spin of Zagreb". International Skating Union. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
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