Fewer and fewer spots for the ISU Grand Prix Final are available as the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series 2024/25 enters the penultimate event Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN). Reigning ISU World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps (CAN) as well as ISU World silver medalist  Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) headline the competition and have an excellent shot at qualifying for the Final while more Skaters are ready to challenge for the podium and Grand Prix points.  

The Top Contenders 

Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) competes at the ISU Grand Prix NHK Trophy in Tokyo, Japan © ISU

Reigning ISU World silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) just struck gold at the NHK Trophy in Tokyo last week and now wants to book his ticket to Grenoble. He will meet again 2024 NHK Trophy silver medalist Daniel Grassl (ITA). Competition promises to be exciting with 2024 Skate America silver medalist Kevin Aymoz (FRA) and 2024 Skate Canada bronze medalist Junhwan Cha (KOR) who still can make the Final as well. Other contenders to watch are 2023 ISU Grand Prix Finalist Sota Yamamoto (JPN), 2024 ISU European silver medalist Aleksandr Selevko (EST) and 2023 European bronze medalist Lukas Britschgi (SUI).

Kagiyama comes straight from NHK Trophy in Japan but he has a plan: 

“Every time after we have a competition, a fatigue kicks in both mentally and physically. But you take good nutritious meals and you sleep at night and you try to recover as much as possible. There's only a short period of time before we go into Finland. But I do like to make sure to be in the best possible condition,” he said at NHK Trophy about doing back-to-back Grand Prix.

Rino Matsuike (JPN) competes at the ISU Grand Prix Skate Canada in Halifax, Canada © ISU

The Women’s event looks wide open and another Japanese podium sweep is possible. 2024 Skate Canada silver medalist Rino Matsuike (JPN) and her teammates 2024 Skate Canada bronze medalist Hana Yoshida and two-time ISU Four Continents Champion Mai Mihara are the top contenders. Newcomer Sarah Everhardt (USA) who was fifth at the Grand Prix de France is eyeing the podium while 2023 Skate America bronze medalist Niina Petrokina (EST) and 2023 NHK Trophy silver medalist Lindsay Thorngren (USA) are looking to improve from their NHK Trophy results.

Reigning ISU World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps (CAN) are the ones to beat in the Pairs event. With a gold from Skate Canada under their belts, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps are aiming to qualify for the Final here in Helsinki. Grand Prix de France bronze medalists Rebecca Ghilardi/Filippo Ambrosini (ITA) want to keep their chance for the Final by finishing at least second. Maria Pavlova/Alexei Sviatchenko (HUN) who were fifth at Skate America, are aiming at the podium this time. Others to watch include two-time ISU Four Continents silver medalists Emily Chan/Akira Spencer-Howe (USA), Kelly-Ann Laurin/Lucas Ethier (CAN) and Yuna Nagaoka/Sumitada Moriguchi (JPN).

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) compete at the ISU Grand Prix Skate Canada in Halifax, Canada © ISU

Tension will be high in the Ice Dance competition when ISU World silver medalists and Skate Canada Champions Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) will meet ISU European silver medalists and Skate America Champions Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) for the first time this season and both will most likely qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final. 2023 ISU European bronze medalists Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis (FIN) are looking for a medal on home ice in their first Grand Prix event this season while a group of talented young teams will challenge for the podium as well: Nathalie Taschlerova/Filip Taschler (CZE), Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolsenik (USA), Oona Brown/Gage Brown (USA) and Hannah Lim/Ye Quan (KOR).

“During the Grand Prix it's a busy time, there's never a lot of time between competitions to make really big structural changes or things like that,” Poirier commented. 

“We really focused on our protocol sheet and looked at the elements that didn't have the strongest GOEs and took some time to make adjustments that we just felt made the programs a little bit stronger. That was really the main focus for the two weeks and then otherwise just kind of leaning into performing the programs as much as we can,” he continued.

“I think it's good just to improve on what we did at Skate Canada,” Gilles agreed. “We had such a great first outing and I think it was a great building block, but like Paul said, there are some things in our programs that we felt like we could execute a little bit better and try to get a bit more creative execution and get more points.”

A total of 60 Skaters/Couples representing 14 countries will compete in the Helsinki Ice Hall. For full entries, schedules & results, see the ISU Grand Prix Event Page &  ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy Event Page & Official Finlandia Trophy Website. 

Check out the ISU Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final:

Men      Women           Pair Skating      Ice Dance

What & When

The schedule of the Finlandia Trophy is as follows

Friday, Nov 15: Men’s, Women’s & Pairs Short Programs

Saturday, Nov 16: Men’s & Women’s Free Skating, Rhythm Dance

Sunday, Nov 17: Pairs Free Skating, Free Dance

Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

1. 18 - 20 Oct 2024                      Skate America in Allen, TX (USA)
2. 25 - 27 Oct 2024                      Skate Canada International in Halifax (CAN)
3. 01 - 03 Nov 2024                     Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
4. 08 - 10 Nov 2024                     NHK Trophy in Tokyo (JPN)
5. 15- 17 Nov 2024                      Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)  
6. 22 - 24 Nov 2024                     Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: 

1. 05 - 08 Dec 2024                        Grenoble (FRA)

About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.