The Cup of China is an annual

figure skating competition A figure skating competition is a judged sports competition in figure skating. Types of figure skating competitions International International competitions sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) are governed by the union's rules ...

sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Chinese Skating Association (), and part of the ISU Grand Prix Series. The first competition was held in 2003 in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

as a replacement for Bofrost Cup on Ice. The Cup of China has been interrupted three times in its history: in 2018 when the Chinese Skating Association elected to forgo hosting any international skating events in order to prepare its venues for 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 ...

, and then in 2021 and 2022 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 ...

. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles,

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...

, and

ice dance Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

. 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 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

Jeremy Abbott Jeremy Abbott (born June 5, 1985) is a former American Figure skating, figure skater. He is the 2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time (2007, 2011) Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Four Conti ...

of the United States and Jin Boyang of China are tied for winning the most Cup of China titles in men's singles (with two each). Three skaters are tied for winning the most titles in women's singles (also with two each):

Mao Asada is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics - Ladies' singles, 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Figure Skating Championships, World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-t ...

of Japan, Irina Slutskaya of Russia, and Yuna Kim of South Korea. Shen Xue and

Zhao Hongbo Zhao Hongbo (; born 22 September 1973) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Shen Xue, Zhao is the 2010 Figure skating at the Olympics, Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Figure skating at the Olympics, Olympic bronze medalist, a three ...

hold the record for winning the most titles in pair skating (with four); while Nathalie Péchalat and

Fabian Bourzat Fabian Bourzat (born 19 December 1980) is a French retired ice dancer. With partner Nathalie Péchalat, he is a two-time World bronze medalist (2012, 2014), a two-time European champion (2011–2012), and a five-time French national champion ...

of France, and Tanith Belbin and

Benjamin Agosto Benjamin Alexandro Agosto (born January 15, 1982) is an American ice dancer. With partner Tanith Belbin, Agosto is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a four-time World medalist, the 2004–2006 Four Continents champion, and 2004–2008 U.S. ...

of the United States, are tied for winning the most titles in ice dance (with three each).

History

Beginning with the 1995–96 season, the International Skating Union (ISU) launched the Champions Series – later renamed the Grand Prix Series – which, at its inception, consisted of five qualifying competitions and the Champions Series Final. This allowed skaters to perfect their programs earlier in the season, as well as compete against the skaters with whom they would later compete at the World Championships. This series also provided the viewing public with additional televised skating, which was in high demand. Skaters earned points based on their results in their respective competitions and the top skaters or teams in each discipline were invited to compete at the Champions Series Final. The first edition of the Cup of China was held in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. It replaced the Bofrost Cup on Ice, which had been one of the founding events of the Grand Prix Series, after the Chinese Skating Association reached a more lucrative television contract with the ISU.

Timothy Goebel Timothy Richard Goebel (born September 10, 1980) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple salchow jump in competition and the first person to land th ...

of the United States won this inaugural men's event, Elena Liashenko of Ukraine won the women's event, Shen Xue and

of China won the pairs event, and Tatiana Navka and

Roman Kostomarov Roman Sergeyevich Kostomarov (, born 8 February 1977) is a Russian former ice dancer. With partner Tatiana Navka, he is the 2006 Olympic champion, two-time World champion (2004–05), three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2003–05), and three-t ...

of Russia won the ice dance event. In 2018, the Chinese Skating Association declined to host any international skating events so as to prepare its venues for the

. Finland hosted a replacement event, the Grand Prix of Helsinki, instead. Due to the ongoing

, a number of modifications were made to the structure of the 2020 Cup of China. Only skaters from China were permitted to compete. On 9 July 2020, the

General Administration of Sport of China The General Administration of Sport () is the government agency responsible for sports in mainland China. It is subordinate to the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It also administers the All-China Sports Federation and Chinese O ...

announced that no international sporting events would be held in China in 2020 except for test events for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The ISU announced on 13 July that the 2020 Cup of China would be held as scheduled due to its connection to the Beijing test event, the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. On 29 October 2020, the Chinese Skating Association announced that the Cup of China would be held with no audience presence. The 2021 Cup of China, originally scheduled to be held in

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, was cancelled due to travel and quarantine restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gran Premio d'Italia in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

served as its replacement. On 21 July 2022, it was confirmed that the 2022 Cup of China was cancelled due to China's ongoing COVID-19 travel restrictions. The MK John Wilson Trophy in

Sheffield, England Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its southe ...

, in the United Kingdom, served as its replacement.

Medalists

Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Records

Cumulative medal count

Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Total medals

References

External links

Cup of China
at Skating Scores {{Grand Prix Figure skating ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating International figure skating competitions hosted by China 2003 establishments in China Recurring sporting events established in 2003