The 2010–11 figure skating season began on July 1, 2010, and ended on June 30, 2011. During this
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, elite skaters competed on the ISU Championship level at the 2011
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
,
Four Continents
Europeans in the 16th century divided the world into four continents: Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Each of the four continents was seen to represent its quadrant of the world—Africa in the south, America in the west, Asia in the east, ...
,
World Junior, and
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
. They also competed in elite competitions such as the
Grand Prix series and
Junior Grand Prix series, culminating in the
Grand Prix Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies ...
.
Season notes
This was the first season in which the
short dance
The short dance (SD) was the first segment of an ice dancing competition from the 2010–2011 to the 2017–2018 seasons. It was approved in June 2010 by the International Skating Union (ISU). It merged the original dance (OD) and compulsory d ...
was contested in
ice dance, having replaced the
compulsory dance
The compulsory dance (CD), now called the pattern dance, is a part of the figure skating segment of ice dance competitions in which all the competing couples perform the same standardized steps and holds to the music of a specified tempo and gen ...
and
original dance
The original dance (OD) was one of the programs performed by figure skaters in ice dance competitions, in which the ice dancers skated "a dance of their own creation to dance music they have selected for the designated rhythm(s)".Rulebook, p. 90 ...
. The season's required pattern dance was the Golden Waltz (senior) or Viennese Waltz (junior), and the other portion of the dance could be a waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, or tango.
Beginning in the 2010–11 season, a rule change allowed men to do two quads in the short program, if they were different jumps. In October 2010,
Kevin Reynolds became the first skater to land two quads in a short program. He landed a quad
salchow-triple
toe loop
The toe loop jump is the simplest jump in the sport of figure skating. It was invented in the 1920s by American professional figure skater Bruce Mapes. The toe loop is accomplished with a forward approach on the inside edge of the blade; the ska ...
combo and later a solo quadruple toe-loop at the
2010 Skate Canada International.
[
In December 2010, there was a tie for a medal at the ]Junior Grand Prix Final
The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final or JGP Final (titled the ISU Junior Series Final in the 1997–98 season) is the culmination of a series of junior-level competitions – the ISU Junior Grand Prix organized by the International Skating Union. Medals ...
. In the ladies' event, China's Li Zijun and Japan's Risa Shoji were tied for third with an identical total score of 149.82. Li was awarded the medal on the tiebreaker.
The season also saw the coldest temperatures in many years at a major event.[ In January 2011 at the European Championships, temperatures at the Swiss venue dipped to as low as minus-3 Celsius, resulting in complaints and a promise for more vigilance in the future.][
During the 2010–2011 season, controversy over age falsification reached the sport of figure skating, after previously being discussed in ]gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
and other sports.[ On February 14, 2011, questions emerged surrounding nine Chinese skaters. The ]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
found that birthdates listed on the Chinese skating association's website suggested five female skaters, Sui Wenjing, Zhang Dan
Zhang Dan (; born 4 October 1985) is a Chinese former pair skater. With Zhang Hao, she is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a four-time (2005 bronze, 2006, 2008, 2009 silver) World medalist, and a two-time (2005, 2010) Four Continents cha ...
, Yu Xiaoyu
Yu Xiaoyu (; ) is a former Chinese pair skater. With partner Zhang Hao, she is the 2016–17 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, 2017 Asian Winter Games champion and 2018 Chinese national champion. With partner Jin Yang, she is a two-time (2 ...
, Geng Bingwa
Geng Bingwa (; born January 3, 1994) is a Chinese figure skater. She won the silver medal in 2008 and 2011 at the Chinese Figure Skating Championships, and reached the free skate at five International Skating Union Championships.
Personal lif ...
, and Xu Binshu
Xu Binshu (; born July 28, 1988, in Changchun, Jilin) is a Chinese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2004 & 2006 Chinese national champion. She won the bronze medal at the 2007 Asian Winter Games
The 6th Asian Winter Games () we ...
, were younger than their stated ages, and four male skaters, Han Cong
Han Cong (pronounced "Han Tsong") (; born 6 August 1992) is a Chinese pair skater. With partner Sui Wenjing, he is the 2022 Olympic gold medalist, 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time world champion (2017, 2019), a three-time world sil ...
, Zhang Hao, Jin Yang
Jin Yang (; ; born in Harbin) is a Chinese male pair skater. With current partner Peng Cheng, he is a two-time Four Continents medalist (silver in 2020, bronze in 2019), two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist ( 2018–19, 2019–20), ...
, and Gao Yu, were older.[ The dates disappeared from the website by February 15.][ On February 17, the ISU said there were no discrepancies for Zhang Dan, Zhang Hao, and Xu Binshu between the birthdates listed on their passports, ISU registration forms and the Chinese Olympic Committee's website.][
On March 14, 2011, the 2011 World Championships, scheduled to begin on March 21, were postponed due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and its aftermath,][ and later reassigned to Moscow, Russia.][ It was the first disaster affecting the World Championships in 50 years. In 1961, the entire United States team was killed in a plane crash, resulting in its cancellation. The last time a World Championships was moved was in 2000, due to an alleged broadcasting dispute, and the new host, France, had seven months to prepare, with the event held in the traditional month of March. However, the 2011 event had to be pushed back to April 24 – May 1, with only a month to prepare.
There were several slashing accidents. In September 2010, ]Evan Bates
Evan Bates (born February 23, 1989) is an American ice dancer. With his skating partner, Madison Chock, he is a 2022 Olympic team event silver medalist, a three-time World medalist (silver in 2015, bronze in 2016 and 2022), a four-time Grand Pr ...
suffered a complete laceration of his Achilles tendon after Emily Samuelson hit him with her skate blade as she came down from a lift.[ In February 2011, Caydee Denney accidentally sliced Jeremy Barrett's right calf while practicing side-by-side jumps, requiring 42 stitches.][ In April 2011, ]Brian Joubert
Brian Joubert (; born 20 September 1984) is a French figure skating coach and former competitor. He is the 2007 World champion, a three-time (2004, 2007 & 2009) European champion, and the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final champion. On the domestic le ...
sliced his own hand while competing at the World Championships.[ There were two collisions during practice at international events. Canadian ]Patrick Chan
Patrick Lewis Wai–Kuan Chan (born December 31, 1990) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. He is a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the men's and team events, a three–time World ch ...
and American Adam Rippon
Adam Richard Rippon (born November 11, 1989) is an American figure skater. He won the 2010 Four Continents Championships and the 2016 U.S. National Championships. Earlier in his career, he won the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships, the ...
collided at 2010 Skate Canada International,[ while Japanese skaters ]Takahiko Kozuka
is a former competitive Japanese figure skater. He is the 2011 World silver medalist, a two-time Grand Prix Final medalist, a two-time Four Continents medalist, and the 2010–11 Japanese national champion. He is also the 2006 World Jun ...
and Daisuke Takahashi
is a common masculine Japanese given name.
Possible writings
Daisuke can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:
*大輔, "big, assist"
*大介, "big, mediate"
*大祐, "big, bless"
*大助, "big, help"
*大典, "big, law/rule ...
collided at the Grand Prix Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies ...
.[ Canadian pair skater ]Meagan Duhamel
Meagan Duhamel (born December 8, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With partner Eric Radford, she is a two-time world champion (2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team event, a 2 ...
collided with her partner Eric Radford
Eric Radford (born January 27, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With former partner Meagan Duhamel, he is a two-time world champion ( 2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team even ...
during competition at the World Championships, breaking his nose with her elbow.[ No skaters withdrew as a result of the accidents.
One skater was arrested – In May 2011, Israeli pair skater Evgeni Krasnapolski was charged with alleged desertion from the army. The Israeli skating federation stated, "We've asked for clarifications bout his service and if we would have gotten them immediately Evgeni would have returned. The decision to let him stay abroad for training was a professional call made by the federation. The soldier got the (right) impression that we are handling the matter with the IDF and that he could trust the federation".][ In June 2011, U.S. Figure Skating reprimanded and fined ]Rachael Flatt
Rachael Elizabeth Flatt (born July 21, 1992) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2008 World Junior champion, a winner of four silver medals on the Grand Prix series, and the 2010 U.S. national champion.
She was nominat ...
, who competed at the World Championships with an undisclosed stress fracture but could have been replaced by an alternate, for not informing them of her injury.[
In April 2011, the ]International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
officially confirmed the introduction of a figure skating team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
.[ Each team will be composed of a men's and ladies single skater, a pair, and an ice dance team; ten teams may compete, with five eliminated after the short program.][ On June 12, 2011, it was announced that the ISU had reinstated ]Evgeni Plushenko
Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko (, born 3 November 1982) is a Russian former figure skater. He is a four-time Olympic medalist (2006 gold, 2014 team gold, 2002 & 2010 silver), a three-time World champion (2001, 2003, 2004), a seven-time European ...
by a unanimous vote.[
]
Age eligibility
Skaters competing on the junior level were required to be at least 13 but not 19 – or 21 for male pair skaters and ice dancers – before July 1, 2010. Those who had turned 14 were eligible for the senior Grand Prix series and senior B internationals. Those who turned 15 before July 1, 2010 were also eligible for the senior World, European, and Four Continents Championships.
Minimum scores
It was the first season in which skaters were required to have achieved minimum technical elements scores (TES) prior to competing at the European, Four Continents, or World Championships. The minimum TES for each discipline and segment were:
Music
Partnership changes
A number of skaters announced the end of their partnership or the formation of a new one. Listed are changes involving a partnership with at least one partner who competed at the Worlds, Europeans, Four Continents, Junior Worlds or the senior Grand Prix, or who medaled on the Junior Grand Prix circuit.
Coaching changes
Retirements
A number of elite skaters announced their retirement from competition.
Competitions
;Key
International medalists
Men
Ladies
Pairs
Ice dance
Season's best scores
Top scores attained in international competitions as of April 30, 2011 (World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
)
Men
Men's season's best scores.[
]
Ladies
Ladies' season's best scores.[
]
Pairs
Pairs season's best scores.[
]
Ice dance
Ice dance season's best scores.[
]
Standings and ranking
Season-end standings (top 30)
Men's singles
[
]
Ladies' singles
[
]
Pairs
[
]
Ice dance
[
]
Season's ranking (top 30)
Men's singles
[
]
Ladies' singles
[
]
Pairs
[
]
Ice dance
[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010-11 figure skating season
Seasons in figure skating
2010 in figure skating
2011 in figure skating