ISU in search of new host for cancelled Cup of China Grand Prix

The International Skating Union is in search of a new location for one of its six Grand Prix events for this coming figure skating season.

The skating federation announced on Monday (16 August) that Cup of China, set for 4-7 Nov. in Chongqing, China, will not be held there, due to "very limited international flights in all inbound cities in China" among other concerns.

The ISU has now begun the process to move the event, opening up the option to ISU Member nations to apply to be said host.

The ISU said that Chongqing was also no longer an option due to "the concept of a 'competition bubble'" that "cannot be realized," it said in a statement.

Top-level skaters who were scheduled to compete in China included Kagiyama Yuma, Mikhail Kolyada, Jin Boyang, reigning world champion Anna Shcherbakova, Bradie Tennell, past world champion pair team Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, ice dance duo Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, and four-time ice dance world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. Papadakis and Cizeron, the French team, has not competed since January 2020.

The Grand Prix Series begins 22nd October in Las Vegas at Skate America, with subsequent events in Canada, France, Russia and Japan. The Grand Prix Final is set for early December in Osaka, Japan, weeks before the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Figure skating saw the cancelation of the 2020 World Championships at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the 2020-21 season heavily impacted by further lockdowns and pandemic protocols limitations.

The 2021 World Championships were held, however, in Stockholm, Sweden, amid a strict competition bubble.