2023-24 Grand Prix Final: General Info

[miujison]

Do you need a Chinese passport or can you use a foreign one?

Foreign is ok. I just did it. For the payment site, Alipay (which is the only option to pay), I downloaded the Alipay app English version and took a picture of my US passport to complete the verification/security process. For the ticketing site, damai.cn, I used a Hong Kong phone number to register (I don't know if a foreign phone number would work or not). After I chose my seat, I was asked to put in my ID information and in this case, my passport was the eligible form.

 

[Boronia]

I was using Australian passport. I don’t have Chinese one.

 

[Roy Scholten]

I try to get into the buying tickets link. we have visa, hotel and flights aranged. ... But i have no chinese friends or people i know who can help me with this... How do i get tickets withn a norwegian phine number and passport..... i think its very stressfull

 

[Roy Scholten]

Hi! Sorry to trouble but could you share how you managed to do it? As someone without a China mobile number, I can't seem to create a Damai account or any of the other accounts that can be used to sign in.

Would love some help Thank you!

i have the same problem

 

[Boronia]

I try to get into the buying tickets link. we have visa, hotel and flights aranged. ... But i have no chinese friends or people i know who can help me with this... How do i get tickets withn a norwegian phine number and passport..... i think its very stressfull

I had same problem until yesterday. If you can buy HongKong or Macao esim card with phone number, may you can do it. Or if you go to China and have a phone number with you SIM card, you can buy it. I was really frustrated this situation too.

 

[Roy Scholten]

I had same problem until yesterday. If you can buy HongKong or Macao esim card with phone number, may you can do it. Or if you go to China and have a phone number with you SIM card, you can buy it. I was really frustrated this situation too.

Thanks for the reply Boronia but my phone does not support esim. (sony experia) I think we ask the hotel to help us....

 

[PaulE]

Asking the hotel sounds like an excellent idea. Does the hotel have a telephone number you can use?

 

[birdseye1]

Are the 80 Yuan tickets for seniors or disability seating, or just the really cheap seats? I can't tell based on the English translation from google lol

 

[sugar wait]

Are the 80 Yuan tickets for seniors or disability seating, or just the really cheap seats? I can't tell based on the English translation from google lol

I think they are really cheap seats and really faaaaaaaar away from the ice.

 

[sp_seashore]

Do you need a Chinese passport or can you use a foreign one?

cityline.com works! Don't need a Chinese or HK passport or even a China phone number. I was given this website by the China Figure Skating Association but it wasn't working. Until this morning! I just bought my tickets!

 

[sp_seashore]

cityline.com works! Don't need a Chinese passport or even a China phone number. I was given this website by the China Figure Skating Association but it wasn't working. Until this morning! I just bought my tickets!

Also, it's a Hong Kong website, so you can opt to operate it in English Click the little globe icon in the top right.

 

[Roy Scholten]

i try, and then when selected two days of tickets...its hanging and does not go on to payment or selct more tickets......am i missing something?

 

[sp_seashore]

i try, and then when selected two days of tickets...its hanging and does not go on to payment or selct more tickets......am i missing something?

I bought the tickets one day at a time. That worked for me. (How crazy is it that it's so hard? It's like trial by ordeal! You'd think they didn't want anyone to show up.)

 

[Roy Scholten]

I bought the tickets one day at a time. That worked for me. (How crazy is it that it's so hard? It's like trial by ordeal! You'd think they didn't want anyone to show up.)

Yes , i feel the same...
So late in sale, and such a hassle..... We have booked flight and hotel.and arranged a visa...all before we even know we can attend.......

 

[Roy Scholten]

I bought the tickets one day at a time. That worked for me. (How crazy is it that it's so hard? It's like trial by ordeal! You'd think they didn't want anyone to show up.)

Thanks for the tip, we managed it now by doing day by day.

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

With one event remaining, the qualification picture looks a lot clearer, but as always, NHK will decide several skaters' fates as to whether or not they qualify for the Final. A huge shoutout to Jackie Wong, whose article was very helpful for making this post!

MEN

Qualified:

1. Adam Siao Him Fa (30)
2. Ilia Malinin (28)
3. Kao Miura (28)

Kevin Aymoz (24) is the next-highest on the list. He is not officially qualified - there is one very unlikely scenario that sees him out of the Final - but it is quite likely that we will see him in Beijing. For him to not qualify, Lukas Britschgi or Nika Egadze would need to win, Yuma to be second with a score of 255.99 or higher, and Shoma third with a score of 249.15 or higher. That is the only way that Kevin can fail to qualify. If only two men qualify at NHK, he is in for sure.

Shun Sato (24) needs disaster to qualify. He lost out on the tiebreak to Kevin, and thus is currently 5th in the standings. If Shoma were to win, Lukas/Nika were second, and Yuma 3rd or lower, Shun would get in. Or, if Yuma were to win, Lukas/Nika/anyone but Shoma were second, and Shoma 3rd or lower with a score of 240.85 or lower, then Shun would qualify.

Sota Yamamoto (20) is not going to qualify unless NHK gets nuked, despite winning his first event. Yay men.

Shoma Uno (13) just needs a bronze with a score of above 240.86, which would put him ahead of Shun unless Nika/Lukas wins and Yuma is second with a higher combined score than Shoma has. In that case, Shoma will need to score above a 249.14 to qualify above Kevin, which will definitively see him in. A silver or gold will mean automatic qualification.

Yuma Kagiyama (11) is in a bit more of a pickle, but he is going back to a two-quad SP layout that if skated cleanly will give him a buffer over his main threats. He needs silver - a bronze will not be enough - with a score of 247.71 or higher to put him above Shun, which will guarantee qualification unless Lukas/Nika wins and Shoma is 3rd but scores high enough to qualify. In that case, Yuma will need to score 255.99 or higher to pass Kevin and ensure qualification.

Nika Egadze and Lukas Britschgi are in a similar situation. They both earned fourth place at their first GP outing, and thus would theoretically qualify if they won. It's worth noting that Lukas scored 26 points higher than Nika at their first GP outing, and Gabriele Frangipani scored 14 points above Nika's SkAm score at CoC. That makes it an uphill battle for Nika. Lukas was ten points back of Yuma at GPdeF, and competed just a few days ago at the Warsaw Cup. He scored a PB SP there, but struggled in the FS to only score a 246.22. The travel and recent competitions could make it a struggle for him to qualify as well. Beyond those two, Gabriele Frangipani and Camden Pulkinen could each theoretically have a shot if they won, but no one else - including Yuma, Shoma, Lukas, and Nika - could qualify.

WOMEN

Qualified:

1. Kaori Sakamoto (30)
2. Isabeau Levito (28)
3. Loena Hendrickx (26)
4. Hana Yoshida (24)

Things get very complicated very fast with the women. We have two spots open, which will likely be fought over between three women: Rion Sumiyoshi (24) who is relying on only one woman to qualify at NHK, Haein Lee (9) who will need a gold medal, and Nina Pinzarrone (13) who just needs a silver medal or bronze with a score of 189.18 or higher to qualify. If Haein wins and Nina is second with the high-enough score, Rion will have to stay at home. Haein may be able to qualify with silver if she scores above Chaeyeon (would need a 189.18 or higher) and Nina does not qualify. This is complicated by the return of Mai Mihara, who cannot qualify for the Final as she withdrew from CoC with injury. If she is in top form, she could easily win here and cause chaos. We also have Yelim Kim (5), the defending champion from last year. Her placement at CoC means she will not qualify for the Final, but if she could have a return to the form she was in last year, she could cause a massive upset. The same applies to Anastasiia Gubanova (5), who like Yelim is unable to qualify but absolutely has podium potential. And, of course, Wakaba Higuchi (7) and Lindsay Thorngren (7) are also unable to qualify unless they win and score above Chaeyeon, and Haein/Nina both do not qualify, but could absolutely be podium spoilers as well. If we based the scores on raw SB scores, Nina would win the event, with Haein in second but less than four points ahead of a challenging group that includes Wakaba, Lindsay Thorngren, Yelim, and Anastasiia. With no clear favourites, but only two women in the running for a spot at NHK, this will be a fascinating event. Chaeyeon Kim (22) is relying on chaos to happen and Nina and Haein to not qualify for the Final. If that happens, she has a chance to make it into the Final so long as Wakaba or Lindsay do not win.

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Pairs

Qualified:

1. Stellato / Deschamps (30)
2. Pereira / Michaud (28)
3. Conti / Macii (26)

We have two German pairs who are on the bubble for qualification: Hocke/Kunkel (24) are waiting to see what happens at NHK. Meanwhile, Hase/Volodin will need to secure at least 4th place at NHK while scoring above a 162.16 to pass Hocke/Kunkel and secure their place in the Final. Ghilardi/Ambrosini (13) have a shot at the title here, and will qualify with a silver medal or gold. A bronze medal will require them to beat a tiebreak with Liu/Nagy or Beccari/Guarise (if one of the latter two teams takes silver) and score above Pavlova/Sviatchenko in combined score (above a 182.97) to ensure qualification. Pavlova/Sviatchenko (24) can qualify if only one team qualifies for the Final. Liu/Nagy (11) and Beccari/Guarise (11) will need a silver and to beat the third-place team in a tiebreak and Pavlova/Sviatchenko in a tiebreak (unless Hase/Volodin are third, because then they will win the first tiebreak thanks to their gold medal). Golubeva/Giotopoulos Moore (9) need a gold medal, which will see them into the Final unless Hase/Volodin are third and Ghilardi/Ambrosini second, in which case G/G-M would need to outscore Hocke/Kunkel to qualify. A lot of these teams are very close in GP SB score, with a 192.72 for Hase/Volodin and a 191.00 for Ghilardi/Ambrosini, the two teams likely battling for gold, while less than three points separates Beccari/Guarise, Liu/Nagy, and Golubeva/Giotopoulos Moore. This, too, should be a thrilling event!

Ice Dance

Qualified:

1. Gilles/Poirier (30)
2. Chock/Bates (30)
3. Fournier-Beaudry/Sorensen (26)

Barring absolute chaos , the final three qualifiers will be Fear/Gibson, Guignard/Fabbri, and Lajoie/Lagha. LaLa have two silver medals, which will be hard to beat, and Fear/Gibson and Guignard/Fabbri are dominant in total score above Turkkila/Versluis and Reed/Ambrulevicius, which is unlikely to change at NHK. Unless the ghost of "Stationary Lift BASE!?!?" returns, the final six are pretty set in stone.

 

[4everchan]

Small detail. PM have 28 points... they should indeed have 30 but they didn't win SKAM
Thanks for your work on this. I did the men after Espoo and my head was spinning LOL

 

[Wilwarin]

Was reminded of this today, may be useful to skaters and spectators:

To further facilitate cross-border travel and China’s high-quality development and high-standard opening up, China has decided to apply unilateral visa-free policy to more countries on a trial basis, which involves extending visa-free treatment to travelers holding ordinary passports from six countries, namely France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. From December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, citizens from the above-mentioned countries holding ordinary passports can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for no more than 15 days for business, tourism, family visit and transit purposes.

 

[lariko]

Is there a potential for the Final to be canceled because of the new wave of respiratory infections hitting China.