The rest of the world gathers in Seoul, South Korea this week for the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

When is it on?

The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships begin Thursday, 20 February with the pairs short programme and conclude Sunday, 23 February with the exhibition gala.

Who is skating?

Local favourite Junhwan Cha (KOR) is fresh off his victory last week at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China and will be seeking to win a second Four Continents title of his career in the men’s event. 2023 champion Kao Miura (JPN) is back to try and take gold again. Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) joined Cha on the podium in Harbin and the Kazakh has had an excellent season so far that has seen him qualify for the Grand Prix Final last December. Kazuki Tomono (JPN) took silver behind Cha and in front of Miura at the 2022 Four Continents.

Mone Chiba (JPN) is the reigning Four Continents champion in the women’s event and she will be joined by her compatriots Wakaba Higuchi (JPN) and Rino Matsuike (JPN) who have yet to win medals at the event. 2024 World bronze medallist Chaeyeon Kim (KOR) and 2023 Four Continents gold medallist Haein Lee (KOR) will no doubt receive the biggest applause at the Mokdong Rink. Bradie Tennell (USA) took Four Continents bronze at this very venue back in 2020, while 2022 World bronze medallist Alysa Liu (USA) is participating in making her Four Continents debut.

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (CAN) are back to reclaim the pairs title they won last season in what will be their first international competition since November. They will face off against 2023 champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (JPN) who have only won one international competition so far this season. Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea (USA) picked up bronze last year and will be hoping to keep a podium spot once more. Watch out for Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov (USA) who sensationally became United States champions last month.

The ice dance event will give us a preview for next month’s World Championships. Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA) have come away with a medal at each of their previous seven Four Continents appearances and it would be a shock if they were not to nab an eighth in Seoul. What colour it will be will come down to how much of a challenge defending champions Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (CAN) give the Americans. The battle for bronze also appears to be between the two North American countries with 2024 Grand Prix Final fourth place finishers Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha (CAN) having the edge over Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko (USA).

Everything you need to know (and some things you did not) about the skaters, the competition schedule and results can be viewed here.

When is the skating on?

Evening till early morning in North America, early morning till lunchtime in Europe and afternoon till evening in Asia. The times listed for the Four Continents Championships are local and if you want to know what the time difference is between where you are and Tallinn then this link is your friend.

Where can I watch the pretty skaters?

This season’s ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships can be viewed on the Skating ISU YouTube channel. Geographic restrictions may apply.

What are the hashtags?

#4ContsFigure #FigureSkating