2026 Nepela Memorial: General Info and Pregame Chat

[gsk8]

2026 Nepela Memorial​

The 2026 Nepela Memorial will take place September 24–27, 2026, in Bratislava, Slovakia, at the Ondrej Nepela Arena. The competition is the sixth of 13 events in the 2026–27 ISU Challenger Series. It will feature the singles and ice dance disciplines. The Pairs will also compete, but not as part of the Challenger Series.

The ISU Challenger Series is an annual series of senior international figure skating competitions organized by the International Skating Union (ISU). It provides athletes with additional opportunities to compete at the international level. Skaters can earn World Standing points and improve their international rankings.

All Challenger Series events are conducted under the ISU Judging System (IJS). Competitions follow the current season's ISU Special Regulations and Technical Rules.

Event Details​

• Dates: September 24-27, 2026
• Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
• Venue: Ondrej Nepela Arena
• Level: Senior
• Disciplines: Singles and Ice Dance
• ISU Event Page
• Announcement

Schedule​

Day​	Event​
Friday, September 25, 2026	Pairs – Short Program (International)
Friday, September 25, 2026	Women – Short Program
Friday, September 25, 2026	Men – Short Program
Saturday, September 26, 2026	Pairs – Free Skating (International)
Saturday, September 26, 2026	Ice Dance – Rhythm Dance
Saturday, September 26, 2026	Men – Free Skating
Sunday, September 27, 2026	Women – Free Skating
Sunday, September 27, 2026	Ice Dance – Free Dance

Please note: This schedule is subject to change.

 

[viennaskater]

Anyone know why this is on the same week as Nebelhorn? Usually that never happens. It only happened last year because of the late scheduling of the Olympic qualifier in Beijing, so they had to push Nebelhorn to a week later.

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

There are 11 Challenger events this year (or 12 if you count Cranberry and John Nicks separately), while it were 10 (11) last year. Maybe they couldn't find another way to get them all on the calendar...

 

[viennaskater]

That's interesting - I did notice the Georgian one which is pretty new. I believe it took place last year for the first time. It's been scheduled for the week when Nepela usually happens. Ah well, I will have to skip Nepela.

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

I bet the dance field at Nepela will be better than at Nebelhorn, it was the same last year

 

[Ivana]

Anyone know why this is on the same week as Nebelhorn?

The most likely reason is that the arena was already booked out on the usual weekend, there is Deep Purple concert in the arena on the 4th (Sunday). There is also Enrique Iglesias concert on the 26th, but it's held at the national football stadium nearby.