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The 2020–21 figure skating season began on July 1, 2020, and ended on June 30, 2021. During this season, elite skaters competed on the ISU Championship level at the
2021 World Championships 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
. They also competed in elite events such as the Grand Prix series and the
ISU Challenger Series The ISU Challenger Series is a series of international figure skating competitions. Established by the International Skating Union in the 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. E ...
. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the ISU cancelled the Junior Grand Prix series and 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 ...
. All ISU Championships events (2021
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, a ...
, and World Junior Championships) except for Worlds were also cancelled.


Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

On May 1, 2020, the
International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Net ...
established a working group, chaired by ISU Vice-President for Figure Skating Alexander Lakernik, to monitor the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Its responsibilities include 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. On August 31, the ISU published the officia
Guidelines for ISU Events During the COVID-19 Pandemic
On July 9, the
General Administration of Sport of China The General Administration of Sport () is the government agency responsible for sports in mainland China. It is subordinate to the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It also administers the All-China Sports Federation and Chinese Oly ...
announced that no international sporting events would be held in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 2020, except for
2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
test events. The
Chinese Skating Association The Chinese Skating Association (CSA) was founded in 1956. It hosts the annual Chinese Figure Skating Championships and the Cup of China. Notable people in Chinese figure skating *Yao Bin & Luan Bo Pairs team now coaches - first Chinese pair ska ...
was scheduled to host several events during the season, including the Asian Open Trophy, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Final, and the World Junior Championships; the Grand Prix Final, to be hosted in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, is the only event exempt from the Chinese government's ruling, due to its status as the test event for the Olympic Games. On July 13, the
International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Net ...
announced that the 2020 Cup of China remained scheduled as planned. On July 20, the ISU officially cancelled the Junior Grand Prix series, citing increased travel and entry requirements between countries and potentially excessive sanitary & health care costs for hosting members. Over half of the events of the 2020–21 ISU Challenger Series were also either cancelled by the host federations or postponed to an unspecified later date. The Challenger Series events were held as individual events, and thus did not award prize money based on overall series rank. On August 4, the ISU confirmed that the 2020–21 Grand Prix series would proceed as scheduled during the fall, but each event would mainly invite skaters located domestically in an effort to limit travel during the global pandemic. The
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
events were heavily modified to accommodate ongoing travel restrictions and the series' culminating event, the 2020–21 Grand Prix Final, was postponed from its original date of December 10–13 in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. On October 14, 2020, the second event in the Grand Prix series, the 2020 Skate Canada International, was cancelled by the host federation. On October 19, 2020, the fourth event in the series, the
2020 Internationaux de France The 2020 Internationaux de France was scheduled to be the fourth event in the 2020–21 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It would have been held at Patinoire Polesud in Grenoble, F ...
, was also cancelled. In November, the Grand Prix Final was first removed from being held in China altogether, before being definitively cancelled on December 10, 2020. The ISU later rescheduled the Beijing test event to the 2021 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy in October. On October 16, the ISU announced the cancellation of the 2021 Four Continents Championships. On November 24, the 2021 World Junior Championships were also cancelled. On December 10, the 2021 European Championships became the third ISU Championships event of the season to be cancelled. The
2021 World Championships 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
were held as scheduled in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
from March 22–28, although three positive
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
cases were detected during the event. In addition, the ISU slightly modified the qualification rules to allow additional skaters the opportunity to meet the minimum TES requirements. Due to the vast difference in skaters' travel restrictions, the ISU determined that it would be unfair to award
ISU World Standings and Season's World Ranking The ISU World Standings and Season's World Ranking are the objective merit-based method used by the International Skating Union (ISU) for single & pair skating and ice dance, as well as synchronized skating. Only eligible skaters/teams will be c ...
points at the Challenger Series and
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
. Thus, the 2021 World Championships was the only event to affect the
2020–21 ISU World Standings and Season's World Ranking The 2020–21 ISU World Standings and Season's World Ranking are the ISU World Standings and Season's World Ranking, World Standings and Season's World Ranking published by the International Skating Union (ISU) during the 2020–21 figure skating ...
. As the
Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
and 2021 World Junior Championships were cancelled, junior skaters had no opportunities to earn World Standing Points for the season. Scores earned at the domestic Grand Prix events did not count as official ISU scores for the purposes of achieving minimum TES requirements or as personal/season's bests. Thus, the season's best scores list was composed entirely of scores earned on the Challenger Series, where 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and 2020 CS Budapest Trophy were the only two of ten scheduled events to be held, the 2021 World Championships, and the 2021 World Team Trophy.


ISU member nations' response

On July 13, the
Japan Skating Federation The Japan Skating Federation ( ja, 日本スケート連盟) is the sports governing body of Japan for figure skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In comp ...
announced that it would not assign any skaters to the
Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
and Challenger Series events, assuming the competitions proceeded as scheduled.


National championships

Several countries postponed or cancelled their
national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
.
U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee "USOPC" under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act an ...
relocated the 2021 U.S. Championships to be able to create an isolated bubble environment.


Season notes


Age eligibility

Skaters are eligible to compete in ISU events on the junior or senior levels according to their age:


Changes

If skaters of different nationalities team up, the ISU requires that they choose one country to represent.
Date refers to date when the change occurred or, if not available, the date when the change was announced.


Partnership changes


Retirements


Coaching changes


Nationality changes


Competitions

Scheduled competitions: ;Key


Cancelled and postponed events

Numerous competitions were cancelled by either the ISU, the host federation, or the local government due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Several competitions were postponed to unspecified dates due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, but were never officially cancelled or rescheduled. The
2021 Winter Universiade The 2021 Winter Universiade, officially the XXX Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Lucerne 2021, was a multi-sport event for student and youth athletes that was scheduled to take place from 11 to 21 December 2021 in Lucerne, Switzerland, ...
and the 2021 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, originally scheduled for January 21–31, 2021 and February 6–13, 2021, respectively, were both postponed to the following season. The IISF Ice Mall Cup was also postponed to the following season, after being rescheduled from February to September 2021.


International medalists


Men


Ladies


Pairs


Ice dance


Season's best scores


Men


Best total score


Best short program score


Best free skating score


Ladies


Best total score


Best short program score


Best free skating score


Pairs


Best total score


Best short program score


Best free skating score


Ice dance


Best total score


Best rhythm dance score


Best free dance score


Standings and ranking


Current standings (top 30)


Men

.


Ladies

.


Pairs

.


Ice dance

.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 figure skating season Seasons in figure skating * *
Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2022 Winter Olympics