It happened like that! The long-awaited figure skating start schedule for the 2023-2024 season has been published on the website of the Figure Skating Federation. And, as you can see, compared to last year, it has undergone important changes.
The national season of figure skating endured the last season, isolated from the international starts, with dignity, one might even say that it was better than any other sport. Television crews, together with the federation, presented many new formats to the audience, including the exciting Russian Show Jumping Championship and the Russian Challenge show tournament. All these innovations had a positive effect in that the skaters did not have any downtime in their careers and did not lose motivation to continue their careers.
Photo source: RIA Novosti
In the upcoming season, the previous formats will change a bit, but the basics will remain the same. I do not have to wait for international starts, we must be clearly aware that such a development of events will not be allowed by the ISU (International Skating Union), which strictly guarantees that our guys do not participate under any pretext in foreign rentals. , and foreigners can compete in Russian domestic competitions exclusively out of competition (for example, Belarusians).
This is what the official competition schedule looks like:
September 16-17, Moscow – test skates of the national team, October 13-16, Ufa – Russian Grand Prix first stage, October 20-23, Omsk – Russian Grand Prix second stage, October 27-30 October, Krasnoyarsk – Russian Grand Prix 3rd stage, November 10-13, Kazan – Russian Grand Prix 4th stage, November 17-20, Samara – Russian Grand Prix 5th stage , November 24-27, Moscow – 6th stage of the Russian Grand Prix, December 1-4, Saint Petersburg – Russian Show Jumping Championship, December 20-25, Chelyabinsk – Russian Championship, November 19-22 January, Moscow – Tournament of Show Programs, February 5-9, Saransk – Youth Championship of Russia, February 14-18, Magnitogorsk – Spartakiad of the Strongest, February 23-27, Yoshkar-Ola – Youth Championship of Russia (“Zhuk Memorial”), March 7-11, St. Petersburg – Channel One Team Cup, March 13-16, Sirius (Sochi) – Junior Grand Prix Final,
What is remarkable here? First of all, there will be skates without battles between greenhouses and dancers. This is due to the experience of last year, when at some tournaments a sufficient number of qualified duets were not recruited, as a result of which the organizers had to cancel the competition or somehow get out of a delicate situation. It even happened that the couple who took third place could not get their due “bronze” due to the fact that they simply turned out to be last. This time in Ufa and Samara the participation of couples is not foreseen, the dancers were not invited to Omsk and Kazan.
Photo source: RIA Novosti
Secondly, Russian figure skating is beginning to develop and attract new regions that previously could not taste high-quality skating. For many years, for the first time, the right to host tournaments will fall to Ufa and Omsk, and the Winter Spartakiad will open Magnitogorsk for fans of figure skating. All the economic conditions that existed last season are fully preserved for the next.
Photo source: RIA Novosti
By the way, the final of the Adult Grand Prix, which usually took place at the beginning of March, is being replaced by the Spartakiad of the strongest. The main fight for skaters will probably be between two cities – St. Petersburg and Moscow, but some skaters from big cities will have to go crazy at home because of the selection in the regions. But the most important thing is that only the collections will be able to participate in the Spartakiad, so the places in the squads will be very limited. At the same time, even top-class athletes will be able to enter other stages of the Grand Prix in the Russian regions. And a great opportunity to see with your own eyes new talents, of which there are many in the expanses of the Motherland, as practice shows.
There are also options to reform the First Channel Cup. It is still unknown what it will be, but there will definitely be changes. Probably, depending on the type of all-star matches in hockey and basketball, with competitions and show receptions.
