2015 ISU Challenger Series Confirmed

CaroLiza_fan · Apr 3, 2015

The latest ISU Communication (1933) was released on 2nd April 2015:

http://static.isu.org/media/198197/1933-decisions-of-the-council-communication.pdf

Amongst the other things decided (suspensions of Federations, GP Final location, and speed skating announcements) are the Challenger Series dates:

6. Allotment ISU Figure Skating Challenger Series
Further to ISU Communication No. 1928 and the corresponding applications received the Council has selected the following 10 International Figure Skating Competitions for the ISU Figure Skating Challenger Series for the season 2015/16:

U.S. International FS	Salt Lake City, USA	September 16-20, 2015
Nebelhorn Trophy	Oberstdorf, Germany	September 24-26, 2015
Ondrej Nepela Trophy	Bratislava, Slovak Republic	Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2015
Finlandia Trophy (no Pair Skating)	Espoo, Finland	October 8-11, 2015
Mordovian Ornament	Saransk, Russia	October 15-18, 2015
IceChallenge	Graz, Austria	October 27-Nov. 1, 2015
Tallinn Trophy	Tallinn, Estonia	November 18-22, 2015
Warsaw Cup	Warsaw, Poland	November 26-29, 2015
Denkova-Stavinski Cup	Sofia, Bulgaria	December 2-6, 2015
Golden Spin of Zagreb	Zagreb, Croatia	December 9-12, 2015

All dates are subject to confirmation/change.

Finally, a Senior B in Russia!

But, no Canada. :disapp:

CaroLiza_fan

ice coverage · Apr 3, 2015

CaroLiza_fan said:
... Finally, a Senior B in Russia! But, no Canada. :disapp:

CaroLiza_fan

Many thanks, CL_fan

-- for the thread, for the news, and for your presentation of the list as a nifty chart :bow:

.

It's good for everyone's planning purposes that the new list has been announced this early.
(In contrast, the 2014 list was announced in June.)

For those who are curious about what led to these big changes in the Challenger list, the link to the previous GS thread that discussed ISU Communication No. 1928, published in Feb 2015:

"ISU Challenger Series modifications for 2015/16"
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...U-Challenger-Series-modifications-for-2015-16

I wonder whether no Asian country applied to host a Challenger event??
And I wonder whether the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International simply will not return for a second year at all (not even as a non-Challenger event).

A quote from Communication No. 1928:

The competitions, included in the “Challenger Series”, should not, if possible, clash with the dates of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events.

So, for comparison, the dates of the 2015 GPs:

23 - 25 Oct 2015 United States
30 Oct - 1 Nov 2015 Canada
6 - 8 Nov 2015 China
13 - 15 Nov 2015 France
20 - 22 Nov 2015 Russia
27 - 29 Nov 2015 Japan
10 - 13 Dec 2015 Barcelona Spain GPF

Ice Challenge does conflict with Skate Canada International.
Tallinn Trophy conflicts with Cup of Russia.
Warsaw Cup conflicts with NHK.
Golden Spin conflicts with the GPF.

CaroLiza_fan · Apr 3, 2015

golden411 said:
Many thanks, CL_fan -- for the thread, for the news, and for your presentation of the list as a nifty chart .

Hey, no need to compliment me for the "nifty chart" - it was done in columns in the original PDF. But when I copied it into the post, the columns disappeared and it just became a mess. So, I had to turn it into a table.

golden411 said:
It's good for everyone's planning purposes that the new list has been announced this early.
(In contrast, the 2014 list was announced in June.)

Cannot agree more with that. Makes things much easier for everybody.

golden411 said:
I wonder whether no Asian country applied to host a Challenger event??
And I wonder whether the Skate Canada Autumn Classic simply will not be held this year at all (not even as a non-Challenger event).

As with last year, I too was surprised that there were no Challenger events in the Asia/Pacific region. I would like to think that Skate Down Under applied for Challenger status, and that some of the Far Eastern countries also put in bids.

And I really hope that the Autumn Classic is held, as it would be a real shame if we returned to the times of Canada not having a Senior B at all.

golden411 said:
A quote from Communication No. 1928:

The competitions, included in the “Challenger Series”, should not, if possible, clash with the dates of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events.

So, for comparison, the dates of the 2015 GPs:

23 - 25 Oct 2015 United States
30 Oct - 1 Nov 2015 Canada
6 - 8 Nov 2015 China
13 - 15 Nov 2015 France
20 - 22 Nov 2015 Russia
27 - 29 Nov 2015 Japan
10 - 13 Dec 2015 Barcelona Spain GPF

Ice Challenge does conflict with Skate Canada International.
Tallinn Trophy conflicts with Cup of Russia.
Warsaw Cup conflicts with NHK.
Golden Spin conflicts with the GPF.

As for the dates, well, I am not surprised that they were not able to avoid clashes with the GP Series.

Before I took my sabbatical (which turned out to be just 1 week off as I couldn't resist visiting!), I had been spending a LOT of time making out a spreadsheet of the calendars of the past five seasons, so that I could try to make out a theoretical calendar that took in this idea, as well as a couple of my own. But, I soon discovered that it would be impossible to avoid clashes, as there are just too many competitions in the autumn.

(For those that are interested, I will be uploading my spreadsheet to Google Spreadsheets, and posting a link and discussion to the other thread. But, it won't be until next week at the earliest, as I still have half a season to input, and the whole discussion to write).

CaroLiza_fan

ice coverage · Apr 3, 2015

CaroLiza_fan said:
Hey, no need to compliment me for the "nifty chart" - it was done in columns in the original PDF. But when I copied it into the post, the columns disappeared and it just became a mess. So, I had to turn it into a table. ...

As usual, you are too modest, CL_fan.
I had seen the columns in the PDF (thanks to your link to the ISU document).
But as we all know, you are one of the very few who has mastered table-making on GS.

Even with your instructions, I haven't gotten the hang of it -- it's still hit or miss with me.
You will notice that I did not even attempt to convert the GP dates into a table

.

Richie · Apr 3, 2015

It looks a is if GP France and Russia have been switched compared to recent years. Doen anyone know where Thophee Bompard will take place? Is Bercy renovated or will it be in Bordeaux like in 2014?

YesWay · Apr 3, 2015

Richie said:
It looks a is if GP France and Russia have been switched compared to recent years. Doen anyone know where Thophee Bompard will take place? Is Bercy renovated or will it be in Bordeaux like in 2014?

If you search the right date range on the ISU calendar, it shows TEB is 13-15 Nov 2015.

But if you search online ticket vendors for Bercy, it seems that U2 are playing there 14-15 Nov 2015 and they're already selling the tickets.

Not conclusive, because eg. Rostelecom and TEB swapped their dates this last season.

But it seems pretty unlikely it's going to be Bercy: If the dates swapped again it would have be with an earlier GP like China or something, because Bercy seems to have more concerts scheduled on the weekends following 13-15 Nov.

Maybe it will be Bordeaux again. But who knows? Maybe it will be Nice? Or Lyon? Or somewhere else...?

ice coverage · Apr 3, 2015

YesWay said:
If you search the right date range on the ISU calendar, it shows TEB is 13-15 Nov 2015. ....

For one-click access to the 2015 GP France page on the ISU site, which shows Nov 13-15:

http://www.isu.org/en/single-and-pa.../2015/11/isu-grand-prix-of-figure-skating-fra

CaroLiza_fan · Apr 3, 2015

Richie said:
It looks a is if GP France and Russia have been switched compared to recent years. Doen anyone know where Thophee Bompard will take place? Is Bercy renovated or will it be in Bordeaux like in 2014?

YesWay said:
If you search the right date range on the ISU calendar, it shows TEB is 13-15 Nov 2015.

But if you search online ticket vendors for Bercy, it seems that U2 are playing there 14-15 Nov 2015 and they're already selling the tickets.

golden411 said:
For one-click access to the 2015 GP France page on the ISU site, which shows Nov 13-15:
http://www.isu.org/en/single-and-pa.../2015/11/isu-grand-prix-of-figure-skating-fra

From the research I have been doing (see above), I've found that it's not unusual for the Cup of Russia to switch dates with other GP's from one year to the next. But, it is usually the NHK it switches with.

Week Ending
26-Oct-14	Skate America
02-Nov-14	Skate Canada
09-Nov-14	Cup of China
16-Nov-14	Cup of Russia
23-Nov-14	Trophée Éric Bompard
30-Nov-14	NHK Trophy
07-Dec-14
14-Dec-14	Grand Prix Final

Week Ending
20-Oct-13	Skate America
27-Oct-13	Skate Canada
03-Nov-13	Cup of China
10-Nov-13	NHK Trophy
17-Nov-13	Trophée Éric Bompard
24-Nov-13	Cup of Russia
01-Dec-13
08-Dec-13	Grand Prix Final

Week Ending
21-Oct-12	Skate America
28-Oct-12	Skate Canada
04-Nov-12	Cup of China
11-Nov-12	Cup of Russia
18-Nov-12	Trophée Éric Bompard
25-Nov-12	NHK Trophy
02-Dec-12
09-Dec-12	Grand Prix Final

Week Ending
23-Oct-11	Skate America
30-Oct-11	Skate Canada
06-Nov-11	Cup of China
13-Nov-11	NHK Trophy
20-Nov-11	Trophée Éric Bompard
27-Nov-11	Cup of Russia
04-Dec-11
11-Dec-11	Grand Prix Final

But, the TEB is usually the same position every year, so it is strange that it is earlier next season. Especially when it means that it is now on the same weekend as that U2 concert.

Hope this makes things clearer

CaroLiza_fan

StitchMonkey · Apr 3, 2015

YesWay said:
Maybe it will be Bordeaux again. But who knows? Maybe it will be Nice? Or Lyon? Or somewhere else...?

Are there any venues in Paris or near Paris that could host it? If yes, than that is a strong contender. There is talk that Paris wants to try to get the 2024 Olympics as it will also be the 100 year anniversary of the last time they hosted. And they way you campaign to get the Olympics is by hosting big international competitions. So, if Paris can host it, it would be a logical move to have it there as preparation.

silverfoxes · Apr 3, 2015

Saransk, Russia seems like a really random place for a senior B...not easy to travel to, I don't think. Why there?

StitchMonkey · Apr 3, 2015

gallavich said:
Saransk, Russia seems like a really random place for a senior B...not easy to travel to, I don't think. Why there?

Im guessing the theroy was "It's closer to Asia! Easier for those countries to get there." In practice I wonder how many are going to have to fly through Moscow anyway.

NMURA · Apr 3, 2015

StitchMonkey said:
Im guessing the theroy was "It's closer to Asia! Easier for those countries to get there." In practice I wonder how many are going to have to fly through Moscow anyway.

Practically a Russian domestic competition with some participants from satellite states. I doubt anyone from other countries will be interested in. You have to go through Moscow and need the visa. Inconvenient and expensive.

StitchMonkey · Apr 3, 2015

NMURA said:
Practically a Russian domestic competition with some participants from satellite states. I doubt anyone from other countries will be interested in. You have to go through Moscow and need the visa. Inconvenient and expensive.

So expect D10 and Misha? You would need a visa no matter where in Russia, I have no idea the airport situation, but I will take your word for go through Moscow. I wonder what the advantage was for Russia to stick it there over Moscow.

NMURA · Apr 3, 2015

They need at least 8 skaters from 4 countries to be point-eligible in singles. Probably some combinations of RUS, BLR, KAZ, UZB, ARM can make it. The Baltic states are not in for this and of course, Ukraine.

dorispulaski · Apr 3, 2015

And Golden Spin is still on the list :bang:

as the final event where everything is decided.

YesWay · Apr 3, 2015

dorispulaski said:
And Golden Spin is still on the list as the final event where everything is decided.

Well, I think the Challenger Series ladies winner was decided long before Golden Spin this year :-D

But I think I know what you mean... and I don't think they can get away with the kind of information "blackout" they had last time. The Challenger announcement doesn't add any requirement for televising/streaming etc but it is mentioned prominently. So hopefully they will get with the program... otherwise I think they'll be dropped...

Florentina · Apr 3, 2015

NMURA said:
Practically a Russian domestic competition with some participants from satellite states. I doubt anyone from other countries will be interested in. You have to go through Moscow and need the visa. Inconvenient and expensive.

I don't really see the point. Obviously if you are based in Europe you will, if possible, choose events that are easily accesible. For others, sure you need to go through Moscow, but Saransk is really just an hour flight away. To most, if not all, European Challenger Series events, you will also have a lay-over at a major European airport. People may feel more comfortable travelling to and within the European Union than to and within Russia and therefore when presented with the choice, prefer those events.

CanadianSkaterGuy · Apr 3, 2015

Anyone else think Mordavian Ornament was meant to be Mordavian Tournament and something got lost in translation? I like Ornament better though. :biggrin:

StitchMonkey · Apr 3, 2015

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
Anyone else think Mordavian Ornament was meant to be Mordavian Tournament and something got lost in translation? I like Ornament better though.

I hope it turns out to be the Mordavian Tournament for the Mordavian Ornament!

NMURA · Apr 3, 2015

Florentina said:
I don't really see the point. Obviously if you are based in Europe you will, if possible, choose events that are easily accesible. For others, sure you need to go through Moscow, but Saransk is really just an hour flight away. To most, if not all, European Challenger Series events, you will also have a lay-over at a major European airport. People may feel more comfortable travelling to and within the European Union than to and within Russia and therefore when presented with the choice, prefer those events.

I assume Moscow is considered "far" for most of the Europeans and the city called Saransk is "further away" from Moscow. The negative images surrounding Russia (olympics and international politics) are the additional disincentives.

2015 ISU Challenger Series Confirmed

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