2026-27 upcoming Junior skaters

[lileychristie]

Now that the 26/27 season has "officially" started, let's discuss exciting upcoming juniors who (hopefully) we'll see at the JGP and beyond.

Starting from my country Australia, I think a few people might've heard of Mia Zeng - she has generated quite a buzz in the last couple of years because she has all her triples since about 2 years ago, including 3A attempts! I watched her at Nationals a few months ago and she's great indeed, she's also a good spinner and an expressive performer. Here's her SP and FS from Nationals

So glad Australia has 2 slots in Junior Worlds thanks to Hana Bath - Hana & Mia will make a very strong JWC team. Though, Haruna Murakami might make her bid too if JSF releases her to compete for Australia before JWC. Exciting times for Australian skating

Moving to another commonwealth country, over in Canada we have Lia Cho. Funny how Lia and Mia have similar names and also similar trajectory, both very proficient jumper with 3A attempts Lia vs Mia will be exciting to watch for sure! Imagine the confusion if they are in the same JGP haha

And to the powerhouse country Japan, we have the Novice A champion Karin Miyazaki. I like her a lot as she has tons of personality, I hope she'll be able to showcase that in the international scene. In the boys section I look forward to Aoi Kimura, Haruhisa Hidaka and Riku Sakuma. Usually I'm not greedy with the boys but Aoi skated to Fall Out Boy, Haruhisa skated to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Riku skated to Hamilton so I just gotta love all of them Riku has such great spins too, which is a rarity among junior boys!

I have to confess I don't know much about the upcoming juniors from Korea, America and other countries - but hey, that's why I started this thread! Looking forward to getting to know exciting juniors from around the world

 

[Ichatdelune]

Oh my, you ask for introductions for Korean juniors? Well you are going to get them, and I'm going to be hyper-detailed for the girls because you probably won't see many of them due to our abysmal lack of tickets... the lads are all going to get 2 tickets each so I won't yap as much.

For our lads, we have three skaters who are new to the international scene. Kim Yesung is 18 so not a real 'upcoming' junior, but this will be his first time competing in the JGP circuit. Chung Jaewook is 16, this is also his first time in the circuit, his tech will not be enough to fight for anything and his camel spins desperately need to be worked on, and I'm still hoping he'll regain the boyish fun he had during his novice days (he apparently traded them with those lanky legs). The one I'm actually excited about is Hwang Gyujin, just turned 13 and a tiny cutie who did Zelda BotW for his FS last season (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlc82-dU-Hc). Again his tech will not be enough to aim for anything big, but he is adorable to watch.

Now for our girls... wall of text incoming. I'll mention the 'existing' girls first, then the new ones.

- Kim Jiyu: 15 years old, tiny rocket of energy, a ball of adorableness who did Girl's Generation's Into the New World (2nd gen Kpop) for her FS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLmXzOsyV-M) last season. She was the domestic junior champion for the Ranking Competition during her domestic junior days, but she's been struggling with upping her tech (most notably getting her 3T-3T consistent) and thus have not been out internationally. Objectively speaking her chances of getting a ticket are low (again, criminal lack of tickets) but she is such viral material.

- Lee Gyuri: 14 years old, former domestic junior champion for both the Ranking Competition and Nationals, has been struggling with injuries due to a growth spurt and the consequent lack of consistency. She can be a lot of fun when she's on, she's small and agile and can shine with the right music. I am quite fond of her SP last season (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NF8WFjaq9s).

- Park Hayoung: 15 years old, unexpectedly strong jumper, struggled last season but has the tech to fight for a JGP ticket. Her FS for this season to Apashe isn't bad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPrrTbjRwY) but her FS for the last two seasons to La Esmeralda (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5VH3o11P60) was the better program, the catch being that she wasn't in the shape to perform it to justice... Anyways, one to look out for.

- Jeong Subeen: 14 years old, swift skating and powerful jumps. She is definitely a hard worker and with the right music can be very fun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34CTp4WpCR0), but I had doubts about her packaging last season (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnEPDuaKllg). I consider her a dark horse for the ticket race.

- Cha Doi: Ah my beloved pirate lass. (https://youtu.be/K5u-a1kY9IY) 15 years old, fast and smooth skating and energy that grabs you (more in person than on screen, unfortunately). I am praying for her to grab a ticket.

- Choi Jina: 13 and a half, the reigning domestic junior Ranking Competition and National champion. One of the trio of new junior girls (Jina, Hyoeun, Jiwon) and arguably the strongest, her 3Lz-3T has gotten quite consistent (don't know how her 3F-3T is going though) and she has the stamina to race through a full program. Her FS last season to Capriccio Espagnol (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HTz_FUl7gk) shows her qualities well, I'm hoping she'll keep it for this season.

- Jeon Hyoeun: 13 and a half (only a month younger than her BFF Jina), podiumed on both the Ranking Competition and Nationals in domestic juniors last season, light and airy and faaaaaaast. I'm begging her to keep her beautiful Porgy and Bess FS (https://youtu.be/09snj52ZmQY) that she unfortunately didn't skate clean a single time during last season. I'm quite fond of her.

- Moon Jiwon: 13 years old (about 3 months younger than Hyoeun), bronze medalist at the Ranking Competition last season in domestic juniors, an absolutely charming star in the making. I'm very much fond of her and her performance abilities, which was displayed brilliantly to her Evita FS last season (https://youtu.be/ibZLfmqVMJQ). I had hoped she'd keep it but she got a new free (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6l9nw3a-hY), and while I cannot help but hate that cover (Nakai Ami unleashed something terrible last season) my girl Jiwon's artistry shines through. If you are a fan of Minsol I suggest you check her out.

 

[lariko]

I am really keeping fingers crossed for Lev Lazarev, Elena Kostyleva, Sofia Dzepka, Lidia Plsekacheva, Fefeleva/Valov, Slutskaya/Goncharov and Shesheleva/Karnaukhov. We don't know what the final selections will be for the two spots in the JGP for each discipline, but they are all remarkable skaters and I wish them good luck! Usually, I would have had more in juniors, but the troubles with Domojirova/Vegera kinda distracted me from memorizing all the other junior pairs. But since pairs might get more spots than other disciplines... anyway, hope that the test skate in July 28th is going to be broadcasted, so I can prep to finally cheer for Russian juniors!

 

[skateboyforlife]

Best incoming junior women class ever

Yuxuan Liu (China) [20 Nov 2012]
Chenxi Jin (China) [second half 2012]
Yunxi Fan (China) [first half 2013]
Skylar Lautowa-Peguero (USA) [20 Dec 2012]
Mia Iwase (USA) [16 Nov 2012]
Tera Gropp (USA) [23 Jun 2013]
Lia Cho (Canada) [21 Aug 2012]
Mia Zixuan Zeng (Australia) [22 Mar 2013]
Karin Miyazaki (Japan) [31 Oct 2012]
Jina Choi (South Korea) [11 Dec 2012]
Hyoeun Jeon (South Korea) [13 Jan 2013]
Jiwon Moon (South Korea) [13 Apr 2013]
Alisa Zaikina (Russia) [16 Mar 2013]
Ilina Askarova (Russia) [11 Feb 2013]

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Yuxuan Liu (China) [20 Nov 2012]
Chenxi Jin (China) [second half 2012 est.]

Unfortunately, Yuxuan Liu withdrew from the first stage of the Chinese Interclub League, so she will not be able to be selected for the first three JGPs. Hopefully, she'll be able to attend the other Chinese JGP selection competition and grab one of the spots in the second half of the JGP season.

Chenxi did very well, she's in 3rd after the Short, so if everything goes well in the Free, we'll get to see her make her JGP debut soon

And, to add to these two young Chinese hopefuls, the skater currently in 2nd is also a 13-year old, Yunxi Fan (born in the first half of 2013).

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I'll copy the format that @skateboyforlife used.

Oliviia Bazlova (Cyprus) [26 May 2013]

Please forgive me for highlighting my youngest kid again after bringing her up in the split jumps thread, but I have been counting down to when this little girl becomes Junior eligible for so long.

I was just blown away from the first time I saw Oliviia skating. To the extent that her Basic Novice FS programme to "Bloody Mary" by Lady Gaga was my favourite programme of the 2023-24 Season:

Post in thread 'What's your favorites programs of 2023/2024 season?'

Mar 24, 2024

First of all, I dispute the statement "This season is already over." There are still Senior B's going on right until the end of May. And this season's Irish Championships are even later, in June.

But, in terms of the question, I didn't even have to pause to think about my answer.

The "Bloody Mary" FS that Olivia Bazlova (CYP) used in her Basic Novice competitions this season. I absolutely love that programme, and it is without doubt my favourite programme of the season.

(I like the "Boléro" programme that she used in her Cubs competitions as well, but strictly speaking it was her...

• CaroLiza_fan

• 

I didn't post a video of it at the time because she was only 10 years old back then. But now that she is 13, here it is:

Oliviia Bazlova – 2023 Tallinn Trophy FS

And I have continued to love the programmes she has done since then.

I just can't wait to see what she can do in Juniors.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[labgoat]

I am really keeping fingers crossed for Lev Lazarev, Elena Kostyleva, Sofia Dzepka, Lidia Plsekacheva, Fefeleva/Valov, Slutskaya/Goncharov and Shesheleva/Karnaukhov. We don't know what the final selections will be for the two spots in the JGP for each discipline, but they are all remarkable skaters and I wish them good luck! Usually, I would have had more in juniors, but the troubles with Domojirova/Vegera kinda distracted me from memorizing all the other junior pairs. But since pairs might get more spots than other disciplines... anyway, hope that the test skate in July 28th is going to be broadcasted, so I can prep to finally cheer for Russian juniors!

I am going to use your list as homework! You always know your skaters so well.

 

[4everchan]

Lia Cho FTW !

 

[skateboyforlife]

Unfortunately, Yuxuan Liu withdrew from the first stage of the Chinese Interclub League, so she will not be able to be selected for the first three JGPs. Hopefully, she'll be able to attend the other Chinese JGP selection competition and grab one of the spots in the second half of the JGP season.

Chenxi did very well, she's in 3rd after the Short, so if everything goes well in the Free, we'll get to see her make her JGP debut soon

And, to add to these two young Chinese hopefuls, the skater currently in 2nd is also a 13-year old, Yunxi Fan (born in the first half of 2013).

Thank you. I will continue to edit/update the list.

 

[lileychristie]

Oh my, you ask for introductions for Korean juniors? Well you are going to get them, and I'm going to be hyper-detailed for the girls because you probably won't see many of them due to our abysmal lack of tickets... the lads are all going to get 2 tickets each so I won't yap as much.

Thank you for writing all of that!! Moon Jiwon is adorable indeed

As for tickets, it's even more frustrating for Japanese skating fans as JSF has maximum tickets for both junior men & women and yet they only use like half of them..... why??? Is JSF really that broke even after all the Olympic glories?? At the very least let the skaters self-fund their JGP trip ffs

It's really stupid and disrespectful to other countries who don't have as many tickets.. If only they can just straightaway give their wasted women tickets to the Korean skaters

 

[Anna K.]

I didn't post a video of it at the time because she was only 10 years old back then. But now that she is 13, here it is:

Oliviia Bazlova – 2023 Tallinn Trophy FS

It was worth waiting
Now, I'm looking forward to see her as a junior, too.

Cha Doi: Ah my beloved pirate lass. (https://youtu.be/K5u-a1kY9IY) 15 years old, fast and smooth skating and energy that grabs you (more in person than on screen, unfortunately). I am praying for her to grab a ticket.

I am with you here.
What a shame that this "pirate" program wasn't brought to the international stage last year! It would have turned heads for sure.

 

[Ichatdelune]

I am with you here.
What a shame that this "pirate" program wasn't brought to the international stage last year! It would have turned heads for sure.

Doi didn't have her 7th level (see Korean FS thread for info on levels) last season so while age eligible for juniors she was ineligible for selections for international competitions, now she has it and hopefully she'll manage a spot

If only they can just straightaway give their wasted women tickets to the Korean skaters

So far KSU has managed to get 0 leftover tickets for the girlies, to be fair we weren't high in the priority list but the lack of tickets is just deplorable

 

[Ichatdelune]

Hyoeun Jeon (South Korea) [Jan 2013 est.]
Jiwon Moon (South Korea) [Apr 2013 est.]

Hyoeun: 13/01/15, Jiwon: 13/04/29

 

[cocteautwin]

Unfortunately, Yuxuan Liu withdrew from the first stage of the Chinese Interclub League, so she will not be able to be selected for the first three JGPs. Hopefully, she'll be able to attend the other Chinese JGP selection competition and grab one of the spots in the second half of the JGP season.

Chenxi did very well, she's in 3rd after the Short, so if everything goes well in the Free, we'll get to see her make her JGP debut soon

And, to add to these two young Chinese hopefuls, the skater currently in 2nd is also a 13-year old, Yunxi Fan (born in the first half of 2013).

For my understanding of the rules set by Chinese fed, Yuxuan has a guaranteed spot as she's on national team (based on her results from the previous season). Same as Chenxi Jin. That may be one of the reasons why she decided to WD, she didn't need to compete.
For junior women - this InterClub League event was to determine 3 substitutes, not main skaters spots, those were already given to five national team skaters (Shuxian Jin, Chenxi Jin, Yuxuan Liu, Yihan Wang, Shiqi Gao). Based on the result, Yunxi Fan is now 1st alternate, followed by Jintian Liu, Zixi Mu.
ETA: I hope Yunxi Fan gets a spot - after watching her at Harbin's event she may be my new favourite Chinese junior skater rn.

 

[ajingmarg]

For my understanding of the rules set by Chinese fed, Yuxuan has a guaranteed spot as she's on national team (based on her results from the previous season). Same as Chenxi Jin. That may be one of the reasons why she decided to WD, she didn't need to compete.
For junior women - this InterClub League event was to determine 3 substitutes, not main skaters spots, those were already given to five national team skaters (Shuxian Jin, Chenxi Jin, Yuxuan Liu, Yihan Wang, Shiqi Gao). Based on the result, Yunxi Fan is now 1st alternate, followed by Jintian Liu, Zixi Mu.

It's unfair if it's already been pre selected. Gao skated so poorly internationally past season. There are more promising skaters than her who should be going to international competitions

 

[cocteautwin]

It's unfair if it's already been pre selected. Gao skated so poorly internationally past season. There are more promising skaters than her who should be going to international competitions

Tbh, I don't get many things from chinese fed. Like their domestic scoring. It's weird that they give bonus points for attempting difficult jumps even at the selection events - why not score skaters the same way they will be scored at the events they are fighting to compete at?

As for Shiqi, yes she skated poorly at JGP but she skated pretty well at later national events. Imo, she looked very tired after competing all summer in the domestic league. I think some other girls also didn't skate to their full potential because they all missed their peak. So maybe it has some sense to not force them to compete that much before JGP even starts. 13-14 yo may be fine with that schedule but for the "older" juniors who have to deal with growth and puberty it is harder to keep the peak form for that long and intense period, let them peak at right time.
Is the selection fair though? Not sure, the rules are messy.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

For my understanding of the rules set by Chinese fed, Yuxuan has a guaranteed spot as she's on national team (based on her results from the previous season). Same as Chenxi Jin. That may be one of the reasons why she decided to WD, she didn't need to compete.
For junior women - this InterClub League event was to determine 3 substitutes, not main skaters spots, those were already given to five national team skaters (Shuxian Jin, Chenxi Jin, Yuxuan Liu, Yihan Wang, Shiqi Gao). Based on the result, Yunxi Fan is now 1st alternate, followed by Jintian Liu, Zixi Mu.
ETA: I hope Yunxi Fan gets a spot - after watching her at Harbin's event she may be my new favourite Chinese junior skater rn.

Hm... I knew that there was an exception for skaters/teams that made the JGPF last season, but from the selection document, it was not clear to me that they already distributed all of the spots in the first three JGP event to other skaters who didn't compete here. It explains why some notable names were not taking part in this competition, but why even hold a selection competition if you're really not selecting anyone? In this case, one selection competition for all JGP events would have sufficed in that case, two is overkill if you're only determining substitutes.

And even worse is them having minimum scores for pairs to be sent to any JGP events. They have 12 spots (or more, if they wanted to have more entries at their home JGP), why not use them all? There are three teams guaranteed two spots, another team just scored above the minimum score, but that still leaves at least 4 spots without entry. The 3rd placed team scored just over a point below the minimum score but is very promising (pretty new but with triples jumps and throws).

 

[cocteautwin]

Hm... I knew that there was an exception for skaters/teams that made the JGPF last season, but from the selection document, it was not clear to me that they already distributed all of the spots in the first three JGP event to other skaters who didn't compete here. It explains why some notable names were not taking part in this competition, but why even hold a selection competition if you're really not selecting anyone? In this case, one selection competition for all JGP events would have sufficed in that case, two is overkill if you're only determining substitutes.

And even worse is them having minimum scores for pairs to be sent to any JGP events. They have 12 spots (or more, if they wanted to have more entries at their home JGP), why not use them all? There are three teams guaranteed two spots, another team just scored above the minimum score, but that still leaves at least 4 spots without entry. The 3rd placed team scored just over a point below the minimum score but is very promising (pretty new but with triples jumps and throws).

There are different rules for the selection for all disciplines.
Jr women - national team skaters authomatically got JGP 1 spot; Harbin event was to determine 3 substitutes; to get second spots at later GP skater must place 1-4 at their first GP; the rest spots will be distributed based on another Chinese league event no. 5. So other skaters still can get a spot later on. However, I imagine that skaters who failed to place 1-4 at their 1st GP also can compete at the another selection event and get a second spot via good enough ranking their.
Jr men - top 4 skaters from Harbin event got a one JGP spot, for getting second spot - same rules as for women.
Jr pairs - last seasong JGP finalists all got authomatically 2 spots, additionally top 3 teams from Harbin event could get a spot but had to get a min score of total 120 points; only one team managed to get it (plus Chen/Dong who already had spots); the rest of the spots spots will be distributed based on 5th InterClub League event, same min score has to be achived
Jr ice dance - winners of Harbin got 2 guaranteed spots, 2nd and 3rd got 1 spot; same 1-4 JGP placement rules for getting another spot and the rest also will be distributed based on 5th league event.
That's how I understood the rules based on documents' translation and some Weibo users comments.
It looks they don't want to waste spots but 12 spots for junior pairs is a lot and I don't think many countries have enough teams to fill them. I guess they want to send teams who are at certain level (not total newbies) so the min score makes sense to me. The team that placed 3rd in Harbin missed the min just by 1.5 point so maybe they can get it at next selection event. The other teams were much weaker, not really adapted to pair elements yet.

 

[skateboyforlife]

The US Junior Team Cup to determine entrants into the JGP starts tomorrow.

2026 U.S. Junior Team Cup

Event Results for 2026 U.S. Junior Team Cup

ijs.usfigureskating.org

It is singles only.

 

[skateboyforlife]

Hyoeun: 13/01/15, Jiwon: 13/04/29

Thank you