The second stage of this season’s ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating brings us to Chongqing for the Cup of China.

When is it on?

Cup of China begins Friday, 24 October with the rhythm dance and concludes Sunday, 26 October with the exhibition gala.

Who is skating?

World silver medallist Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) is the top seeded man at this year’s Cup of China and is the favourite going into the event. He was victorious at the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge at the start of this month. Shun Sato (JPN) is the defending his gold medal from last year. The Japanese skater missed out on a medal when he was fourth at Lombardia Trophy earlier this season. Junhwan Cha (KOR) already has a win under his belt from last month’s Kinoshita Group Cup. 2022 European silver medallist Daniel Grassl (ITA) came third at Nepela Memorial in September. For 2022 European bronze medallist Deniss Vasiljevs it will be his first competition since parting ways with longtime coach Stéphane Lambiel.

World champion Alysa Liu (USA) headlines the women’s event in Chongqing. The American finished off the podium at Lombardia Trophy. Remarkably she has yet to win a Grand Prix medal of any colour. She will be joined at Cup of China by compatriot Amber Glenn (USA) who was unbeaten last season until she finished fifth at Worlds. She will be aiming for a second consecutive gold at the Chinese Grand Prix and has already won Nebelhorn Trophy this season. Following a disastrous showing at Worlds, Anastasiia Gubanova (GEO) is back in China after earning an Olympic spot by coming second at the final qualifying competition a month ago in Beijing. This is the fourth international this season for 2023 World silver medallist Haein Lee (KOR) whose best result came at Denis Ten Memorial Challenge at which she finished first.

The main item of interest both domestically and internationally at this year’s Cup of China will be the first sighting of returning Olympic pairs champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han (CHN). The duo have not competed since they sealed that famous victory back in February 2022. Two-time World bronze medallists Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA) are also in Chongqing to retain their title from last season and have already won two events over the course of the past few weeks. 2024 European champions Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise (ITA) are back after missing last season through injury, although their results at their two previous events this seaon were disappointing seventh places. Two-time World Junior champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava (GEO) will almost certainly be in the mix for the medals as will Jiaxuan Zhang and Yihang Huang (CHN) who placed first at the Milano-Cortina Olympic qualifiers last month.

Three-time World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA) set out their stall in their season debut and will attempting to match the impact of last weekend’s breakout performance by Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) at Grand Prix de France. Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck (ESP) took gold at Nepela Memorial this year continuing on their strong upward trajectory from last season. The Spanish will battle for the medals with 2025 European silver medallists Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud (FRA) as well third and fourth from United States Nationals respectively Caroline Green and Michael Parsons (USA) and Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik (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?

Through the night in North America, morning till lunchtime in Europe and afternoon till evening in Asia. The times listed for Cup of China are local and if you want to know what the time difference is between where you are and Chongqing then this link is your friend.

Where can I watch the pretty skaters?

This season’s ISU Grand Prix can be viewed on the Skating ISU YouTube channel. Geographic restrictions may apply.

What are the hashtags?

#GPFigure #FigureSkating