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ISU Junior Grand Prix in France

International figure skating competition

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The ISU Junior Grand Prix in France, also called the Junior Grand Prix de Courchevel, is an international figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the French Federation of Ice Sports (French: Fédération Française des Sports de Glace). It is held periodically as an event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (JGP), a series of international competitions exclusively for junior-level skaters. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earn points based on their results at the qualifying competitions each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline are invited to then compete at the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

01History

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (JGP) was established by the International Skating Union (ISU) in 1997 and consists of a series of seven international figure skating competitions exclusively for junior-level skaters. The locations of the Junior Grand Prix events change every year. While all seven competitions feature the men's, women's, and ice dance events, only four competitions each season feature the pairs event. Skaters earn points based on their results each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline are then invited to compete at the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

Skaters are eligible to compete on the junior-level circuit if they are at least 13 years old before 1 July of the respective season, but not yet 19 (for single skaters), 21 (for men and women in ice dance and women in pair skating), or 23 (for men in pair skating). Competitors are chosen by their respective skating federations. The number of entries allotted to each ISU member nation in each discipline is determined by their results at the prior World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

The first edition of the Grand Prix International St. Gervais was held in 1967 in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, a commune in the Haute-Savoie department of southeastern France. It sits in the shadow of Mont Blanc in the French Alps. For many years, the Grand Prix International was paired with the Nebelhorn Trophy, a skating competition in Oberstdorf, Germany, to form the Coupe des Alpes, with many of the same skaters participating in both events. A team trophy was occasionally presented to the country with the highest combined placements across both competitions. The last edition of the Grand Prix International St. Gervais was held in 1996.

France hosted the very first Junior Grand Prix competition, then called the Junior Series, in 1997 in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains. Timothy Goebel of the United States won the men's event, Elena Pingacheva of Russia won the women's event, Svetlana Nikolaeva and Alexei Sokolov of Russia won the pairs event, and Flavia Ottaviani and Massimo Scali of Italy won the ice dance event.

The French Federation of Ice Sports has twice hosted the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, the culminating event of the Junior Grand Prix series. The 2016 Grand Prix Final was held at the Palais Omnisports Marseille Grand-Est in Marseille. Dmitri Aliev and Alina Zagitova, both of Russia, won the men's and women's events, respectively. Anastasia Mishina and Vladislav Mirzoev of Russia won the pairs event, and Rachel Parsons and Michael Parsons of the United States won the ice dance event. The 2024 Grand Prix Final was originally scheduled to be held in Orléans, but the French federation chose to relocate the event to Grenoble. Jacob Sanchez of the United States won the men's event, Mao Shimada of Japan won the women's event, Zhang Jiaxuan and Huang Yihang won the pairs event, and Noemi Maria Tali and Noah Lafornara of Italy won the ice dance.

Canada was originally scheduled to host the second event of the 2021 Junior Grand Prix Series in Edmonton, but cancelled the event due to uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was reallocated to France, where the French Federation of Ice Sports was already scheduled to host the first 2021 Junior Grand Prix competition in Courchevel. Thus, two Junior Grand Prix competitions were held back-to-back at the Patinoire du Forum in Courchevel.

Timothy Goebel of the United States, the men's champion at the inaugural Junior Series competition in France (1997)
Timothy Goebel of the United States, the men's champion at the inaugural Junior Series competition in France (1997)

02Medalists

Men's singles

In 2021 at France II, Arlet Levandi became the first men's singles skater from Estonia to win a Junior Grand Prix medal. At the same event, Edward Appleby became the first Junior Grand Prix medalist from Great Britain in nineteen years. The last time that a British skater had won a Junior Grand Prix medal was Jenna McCorkell in 2002.

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

In 2021 at France I, Hannah Lim and Ye Quan became the first ice dance team from South Korea to win a Junior Grand Prix medal. In 2022, Lim and Quan became the first ice dance team from South Korea to win a Junior Grand Prix gold medal.

Ice dance event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1997 Saint-Gervais
1998
  • Nelly Gourvest
  • Cédric Pernet
2000
  • Marielle Bernard
  • Damien Biancotto
2002 Courchevel
  • Melissa Piperno
  • Liam Dougherty
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016 Saint-Gervais
2016 Final Marseille
2019 Courchevel
  • Ekaterina Katashinskaia
  • Aleksandr Vaskovich
2021
France I
2021
France II
2022
2024 Final Grenoble
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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article ISU Junior Grand Prix in France, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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