2021–22 Figure Skating Season
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The 2021–22 figure skating season began on July 1, 2021, and ended on June 30, 2022. During this season, elite skaters competed at the ISU Championship level at the 2022
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
, Four Continents Championships, World Junior Championships, 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 ...
, as well as at the
2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...
. They also competed at elite events such as the Grand Prix and Junior 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 figure skating season, 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU ...
. As a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the Grand Prix Final was cancelled, while parts of the Junior Grand Prix, Grand Prix, and Challenger Series were not held as scheduled. Among the ISU Championships events, the 2022 Four Continents Championships were relocated, and the 2022 World Junior Championships were also postponed and relocated. Due to these re-allocations, the Estonian Skating Union ended up hosting three of the four ISU Championships events this season. Beginning from the 2021–22 season, the International Skating Union officially changed the terminology in all ISU rules and events from "ladies" to "women". On March 1, 2022, the ISU banned all figure skaters and officials from Russia and Belarus from attending any international competitions due to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.


Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The ISU acknowledged two key challenges in organizing the season due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
: entry restrictions into host countries and/or return to the home countries and limited air travel options. However, the ISU remained committed to having a full calendar of events, with modifications as necessary, and issued the following statement: On August 5, the ISU announced that due to varying travel and quarantine restrictions during the pandemic, it would consider re-allocation requests for the Junior Grand Prix series on a case-by-case basis according to an outlined criteria of preference. The ISU also said that they would abandon the re-allocation process in the event of an abundance of requests or overly complex requests that would cause logistical issues. In addition, the ISU decided not to implement a JGP ranking for the season and to instead prioritize holding the JGP series safely "with the best possible participation" in light of the pandemic. In October, the ISU announced alternative qualification criteria for the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final. Skate Canada was scheduled to host the second JGP event in
Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
, but cancelled the event due to uncertainties surrounding the pandemic. The Fédération Française des Sports de Glace hosted two back-to-back JGP events in Courcheval. On August 16, the ISU announced the cancellation of the third Grand Prix event, the 2021 Cup of China, citing the limited number of international flights to China and strict
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
restrictions. On August 27, the Gran Premio d'Italia was named as the replacement event. On December 2, the ISU announced that the 2021–22 Grand Prix Final would not be able to be held as scheduled in
Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...
, and that they were considering the possibility of postponement to later in the season. The event was definitively cancelled on December 17. On September 13, the Chinese Skating Association also announced the cancellation of the 2022 Four Continents Championships. The ISU again asked for other members to apply as alternate hosts on the originally scheduled dates. After receiving no applications from non-European members, the ISU asked the Estonian Skating Union, the host of the 2022 European Championships, to host the Four Continents Championships at the same venue the week after the European Championships. On February 12, the ISU announced that the 2022 World Junior Championships could not be held as planned due to concerns about a surge in omicron variant cases Bulgaria peaking on the originally scheduled dates, as well as the host nation's restrictive entry requirements. As the 2021 World Junior Championships had already been cancelled, the ISU announced that they would evaluate the feasibility of postponing the event until May if the Bulgarian Skating Federation were willing and other ISU member nations were willing to attend. On March 4, the ISU announced that the event would be held from April 13–17 in
Tallinn, Estonia Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
, the second ISU Championships event of the season to be re-allocated to the Estonian Skating Union.


ISU member nations' responses

Due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic, as well as varying vaccination requirements, several federations faced issues traveling to certain countries to compete. Russia was unable to send athletes to France for the first two Junior Grand Prix events and required the ISU's re-allocation system to obtain additional quotas at other events. The federation also faced logistical difficulties in obtaining visas for their athletes at both
Skate America Skate America is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The first Skate America was in held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, as a test event fo ...
and Skate Canada. Other federations limited international competitive opportunities for their skaters due to lengthy quarantine periods upon returning home. Both Japan and China did not send any athletes to the Junior Grand Prix, with China also skipping the entirety of the ISU Challenger Series; Japan only sent athletes to the latter events of the Challenger Series. China later also opted not to send any athletes to the 2022 World Championships or the World Junior Championships.


Season notes


Age eligibility

Skaters were eligible to compete in ISU events on the junior or senior levels according to their age. These rules may not have applied to non-ISU events such as national championships.


Changes

If skaters of different nationalities formed a team, the ISU required that they choose one country to represent. The date provided is the date when the change occurred or, if not available, the date when the change was announced.


Partnership changes


Retirements


Coaching changes


Nationality changes


International competitions

Several competitions were rescheduled from the previous season due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Scheduled competitions: ;Code key: ;Color key:


Cancelled events

Several 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
or the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.


International medalists


Men's singles


Women's singles


Pairs


Ice dance


Records and achievements


Records

The following new senior ISU best scores were set during this season: The following new junior ISU best scores were set during this season:


Achievements

* At the 2022 European Championships, Deniss Vasiļjevs was the first Latvian skater to win a medal (a bronze medal) at an ISU Championship event. * At the 2022 Four Continents Championships, Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi earned the highest placement (the silver medal) for a Japanese ice dance team at an ISU Championship event. Takahashi was also the first skater to earn a medal in two different disciplines at the Four Continents Championships, having previously won four medals in men's singles. * At the 2022 Four Continents Championships, Cha Jun-hwan was the first Korean men's singles skater to win a gold medal at an ISU Championship event. * At the 2022 World Championships, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara earned the highest placement (the silver medal) for a Japanese pair team at the
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 ...
. * At the 2022 World Championships, Loena Hendrickx was the first Belgian women's singles skater to win a medal (a silver medal) at an ISU Championship event. At the 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia, Hendrickx also won Belgium's first Grand Prix medal (a bronze medal) in women's singles. * At the 2022 World Junior Championships, Karina Safina and Luka Berulava were the first Georgian pair team to win a gold medal at an ISU Championship event. * At the 2022 World Junior Championships, Mikhail Shaidorov was the first Kazakh skater to win a medal (a silver medal) at the World Junior Championships. * At the
2021 Rostelecom Cup The 2021 Rostelecom Cup was the sixth event in the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi on 26–28 November. Medals were awa ...
, Morisi Kvitelashvili won Georgia's first Grand Prix gold medal at the senior level in any discipline. * At the 2021 Autumn Classic International, Marilena Kitromilis was the first Cypriot skater to win a gold medal at an ISU-sanctioned event.


Season's best scores


Men's singles


Women's singles


Pairs


Ice dance


World standings


Men's singles

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Women's singles

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Pairs

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Ice dance

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Current season's world rankings


Men's singles

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Women's singles

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Pairs

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Ice dance

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 figure skating season Seasons in figure skating * *