The European Figure Skating Championships and Grand Prix Final have joined the list of international figure skating events canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ISU announced Thursday.
The decisions were made “in view of the worsening worldwide Covid-19 pandemic situation and the consequent increasing risks for organizers and participants,” according to the ISU.
Initially slated for Dec. 10-13 and intended to serve as the Olympic test event in Beijing, the Grand Prix Final was first postponed in September. The European Championships were scheduled for Jan. 25-31 in Zagreb, Croatia. The World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships have also been canceled.
Russian skaters swept the gold medals at the 2020 European Championships with Dmitry Aliev, Aliona Kostornaya, pairs skaters Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitry Kozlovskiy and ice dancers Viktoriya Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov all taking home their first titles.
Previously canceled international events include the Four Continents Championships, two Grand Prix events (Skate Canada, Internationaux de France), the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, the Junior Grand Prix Series and Challenger Series.
The World Figure Skating Championships remains on track for March 22-28 in Stockholm, as does the World Team Trophy (April 15-18 in Osaka, Japan), though the ISU noted it would “decide whether other ISU Figure Skating Events could be organized, if the pandemic situation allows,” should worlds be canceled.
