Question: What is the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating?
The Junior Grand Prix series gives future champions a chance to compete at an international level.
Answer: The
ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is an elite ice skating competition series where top junior level skaters from more than thirty countries compete.
Competition Series
A series of eight qualifying competitions take place. The competitions take place in different countries all over the world. The figure skaters that participate accumulate points and those who score in the top eight in each figure skating discipline advance to the Junior Grand Prix Final.
Age Requirements
Participants in the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating must be under age nineteen if they compete in singles or under age twenty-one if they compete in pairs or ice dancing.
Competitors
The competitors selected to compete in the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating are selected by each of their countries. The number of skaters allowed from each country is decided by the previous year's placement at the ISU (International Skating Union) Junior World Championships.
Famous Participants
Winning the Junior Grand Prix Final is quite an accomplishment. Past participants in the Junior Grand Prix of Skating include
Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker,
Kimmie Meissner,
Johnny Weir, and
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto.
History
The Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series began in 1997. In 2006, the United States won gold in men's, ladies, pairs, and in ice dancing.
Prize Money
Cash prizes are given to the top three place finishers at each competition in the series. Competitors placing in the top six places at the Grand Prix Final also win prize money.
