The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite
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 ...
competition for skaters from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It was a biennial (every two years) competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.
History
Although the event was classified as an "international competition" under
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 ...
rules, it was actually a cooperative venture between the
United States Figure Skating Association
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 ...
and the
Canadian Figure Skating Association
Skate Canada ( Canadian French: ''Patinage Canada'', lit. "Skating Canada") is the national governing body for figure skating in Canada, recognized by the International Skating Union and the Canadian Olympic Committee. It organizes the annual ...
, which both had their roots in a former organization called the Ice Skating Union of America. The latter organization had sponsored competitions open to skaters of both countries as early as 1913.
The 1943 competition was canceled due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the 1945 competition included ladies single skating only. Ice dance was included for the first time in 1947.
The competition was discontinued when the Canadian federation abruptly canceled its participation in the 1973 event, which was to have been held in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
. The CFSA cited problems with the judging (which tended to favor the skaters of whichever country had a majority of judges on the panel) and the reluctance of top skaters from both countries to participate in an event immediately before the
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ...
. In fact, the CFSA was at that time already planning to hold its own international competition, the first
Skate Canada International
The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season. The location changes yearly. Medal ...
, in the fall of 1973. This event would be open to skaters from all ISU member countries and use international judges. The USFSA established its own international competition,
Skate America
Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: m ...
, in the fall of 1979.
Medalists
Men
Ladies
Pairs
Ice dance
Fours
Fours competitions were held only in the indicated years.
References
{{Reflist
1971 disestablishments
Figure skating competitions
Recurring sporting events established in 1923