What to know for figure skating's Grand Prix Final
CBC
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The most important annual event on the international figure skating calendar is the world championships. Second is the Grand Prix Final, which begins tomorrow in Grenoble, France.
Here's what to know:
It's not easy to get in.
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating's regular season consists of six events held around the world in October and November. Skaters can compete in a maximum of two of these. They earn points based on where they finish, and those points decide who gets to compete in the Final. Only the top six in each discipline — men's, women's, pairs and ice dance — are invited.
The only other time we'll see this many of the world's best figure skaters gathered in one place this season is at the world championships in Boston at the end of March. The Grand Prix Final should give us a pretty good idea of who will contend for the podium there.
Canada has three two entries.
For the fifth straight time, no Canadian singles skaters qualified for the Final. But three Canadian duos finished in the top six in either pairs or ice dance to earn a spot in Grenoble.
Unfortunately, Canada's best tandem dropped out. Reigning pairs world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps announced Monday they're unable to compete because Deschamps is recovering from an illness.
WATCH | That Figure Skating Show previews the Grand Prix Final:
Stellato-Dudek, 41, and Deschamps, 32, captured Canada's first figure skating world title since 2018 last March in Montreal, where they live and train. They've remained at the top of their game this season, winning both of their Grand Prix assignments — in Finland and at Skate Canada International in Halifax — to top the pairs standings.
Assuming they're healthy, they should contend for another world title this spring and maybe an Olympic gold in 2026. That will depend on whether Stellato-Dudek, who's originally from Chicago, can get her Canadian citizenship in time for the Games.
Canada's two remaining entries in the Final are both in the ice dance event. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier placed third in the standings while Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha were sixth.
WATCH | Catching up with Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, looking ahead:
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This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Get up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here.
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