Pleasant selections: who will represent Russia at the Junior Grand Prix

At the end of July, the Russian Figure Skating Federation will determine the composition of the participants in the junior Grand Prix series of the 2026/27 season. In August, for the first time in several years, Russian athletes will be able to compete in international competitions in a neutral status.

Let us remind you that on June 30, the International Skating Union (ISU) allowed our skaters to participate in competitions among both juniors and adults. If the path to the Grand Prix series remains difficult for adults - Russians do not have their own quotas, and they can only get to the stages if other participants fail or are injured — then the juniors have received more favorable conditions. In August, they will be able to start the Grand Prix series. According to the ISU regulations, athletes under the age of 19 are considered juniors in single skating, and under the age of 21 in pair and ice dancing.

Who among the Russian figure skaters can get a chance for an international debut and how high are their prospects?

Returned to rule

If you can argue a lot about Russia's place in the world regarding adult skating (both the Olympics and the refereeing did not resolve the dispute), then our world leadership among juniors is not in doubt, largely due to the powerful jumping technique of the singles.

To understand, let's do a thankless procedure — compare the results of the world and Russian junior champions in 2026 (the tournaments were held a month apart):

Men: Rio Nakata (Japan) — 268.47, Lev Lazarev — 278.23

Women: Mao Shimada (Japan) — 208.91, Elena Kostyleva — 228.53

Pairs: Ava Kemp/Jonathan Elizarov (Canada) — 167.90, Alina Seseleva/Egor Karnaukhov — 190.12

Dancing: Hana Maria Aboyan/Daniil Veselukhin (USA) — 166.71, Maria Fefelova/Artyom Valov — 178.62

For now, let's skip the discussion of the "Americanness" and "Canadianness" of surnames in pairs and focus on numbers. Of course, we can safely deduct 15 points from our estimates, which is the margin of the national tournament. It will be especially difficult to break into dancing, where technical assessment has less weight, and reputation, popularity among judges and politics have more weight.

But the fact remains that our juniors can immediately compete at the Grand Prix for selection to the final of six participants and victory.

Calendar:

August 19-22 — Xi'an, China

August 26-29 — Riga, Latvia

September 2-5 — Bangkok, Thailand

September 16-19 — Ankara, Turkey

September 23-26 — Batumi, Georgia

September 30 – October 3 — Ljubljana, Slovenia

October 7-10 — Gdansk, Poland

Grand Prix Final: December 10-13 — Chongqing, China

Admission was granted: Russian athletes are returning to international competitions

So far, we are talking about competing in speed skating, figure skating and short track in a neutral status.

Who's going

We will see the pioneers in a few weeks in China. The specific mechanics of the return remain vague. It is clear that there is a neutral status, it is clear that the filter is more likely to be loyal — and it is also clear that there will be solid opposition to the appearance of neutrals in the form of letters about likes and non-issued visas. That is why the juniors will perform in visa—free countries - at the first stage in China in all four sports, in Bangkok singles, singles and dancers, and in Ankara — a couple.

All participants are eligible for a maximum of two stages, the points are summed up, and the top six qualify for the finals. Question: should we send one leader to two stages in order to compete for the exit? Or give practice to different athletes without any claims to the finals?

The first option seems logical, but everything will finally be decided at the closed junior screening on July 28-31. The Federation will look at the collections, assess the readiness and programs, and decide. It would seem that in every sport we have a champion of Russia and a favorite, but not everything is so clear.

For example, the undisputed leader of men's junior skating, Lev Lazarev, competes for CSKA with five fours in the free skate. Will this be an obstacle for ISU? There will be a litmus test. Elena Kostyleva's chances in women's singles are more reliable in this sense, but is she better prepared than Sofia Dzepka, who won the last Russian Grand Prix final with a score of 223.55? And in pairs and dances, the winners of the national championship were located close, by several points.

The Federation faces a difficult choice. But it's better to have that choice than none. Such a headache is even pleasant.