It might not look like what fans are used to, but the ISU’s Grand Prix Series kicks off on 23 October with Skate America in Las Vegas, then heads to four other stops in China, France, Russia, and Japan.
Normally assigned to two Grand Prix stops, skaters will instead participate in just one, and each event will take on a more national and regional field as officials are limiting the amount of travelling done by the skating community in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the first program has been skated, the Series has already hit a couple of major bumps, however, with Canadian officials announcing the cancellation of Skate Canada (30 and 31 October) and the postponement of the Grand Prix Final - where the top six skaters from each discipline compete, and which had been set for December as an Olympic test event ahead of Beijing 2022.
No plans have been announced to re-schedule the Final as of yet, but the 2021 calendar has already been impacted, too: Four Continents, set for February in Sydney, was called off on Friday (16 October).
As the calendar rounds towards the next Winter Olympic Games, the coming season still promises plenty of high-stakes competition, with some skaters trying out new coaching arrangements, upping their technical games, trialling different choreography, and hoping to qualify for the world championships, set for late March in Stockholm.
Here, we have six things to watch out for during the Grand Prix Series, which Olympic Channel will provide full coverage of in the coming weeks.
Ladies: Russian revolution continues
With reigning Olympic champion Alina Zagitova sitting out the Grand Prix and silver medallist Evgenia Medvedeva back with coach Eteri Tutberidze, Russia reigns supreme in the ladies’ division, with a host of youngsters aiming for more senior success.
Russians Alena Kostornaia, Alexandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova swept the six Grand Prix events last season, while Kostornaia was victorious at the GP Final and European Championships as Shcherbakova won Russian nationals.
It will feel like Russian nationals at Rostelecom Cup when the three former training mates (Kostornaia and Trusova now skate under Evgeni Plushenko) go head-to-head, joined by Medvedeva, former world champ Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and more.
To kick off the season, Americans Bradie Tennell and Mariah Bell will face off at Skate America in an American-heavy field. Three weeks later, two-time Four Continents champ Kihira Rika (pictured above) and her triple Axel will compete at Internationaux de France, near her training base, while Sakamoto Kaori, Hugichi Wakaba, Honda Marin and Mihara Mai feature in a loaded NHK Trophy field.
Two-time world medallist and four-time Japanese champion Miyahara Satoko will not feature because of Skate Canada's cancellation. It's still unclear if a substitute event of some sort - even virtual - might take place in the coming weeks.
It’s not quite clear, either, what the future holds for Zagitova, still only 18, as she’s opted to do a Russian skating TV show in the coming months. But Medvedeva’s move back to Tutberidze from Brian Orser was a clear signal: She was unable to train at the highest level in Russia with her coach via video chat, so she opted instead for a domestic setup, returning to the coach who helped her to two world titles and Olympic silver.