Each year, the International Skating Union (ISU) conducts a series of six Grand Prix of Figure Skating events leading up to the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Skate America is the first of this year’s six Grand Prix events.
The other Grand Prix events are Skate Canada International in Ottawa, Oct. 31-Nov. 2; Cup of China in Beijing, Nov. 6-9; Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris, Nov. 13-16; Cup of Russia in Moscow, Nov. 20-23; and the NHK Trophy in Tokyo, Nov. 27-30. This year’s Grand Prix Final will be in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 10-14.
The world’s top skaters, based on their ISU rankings, are guaranteed spots in two of the six Grand Prix events. Based on their combined scores from those events, the top six individual skaters and teams advance to the Grand Prix Finals.
Generally, the top American skaters all participate in Skate America and then one other Grand Prix event. Skaters from elsewhere in the world might have Skate America as one of their two Grand Prix events, but others do not, meaning several top international contenders will not be in Everett.
Skate America is one of two major figure skating events held in the United States each year, with the other being the U.S Figure Skating Championships. The difference is that Skate America includes international skaters, while the U.S. Championships include only American skaters.
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