ISU Skating Awards
{{Short description|Annual awards ceremony}}
{{Infobox award
| location = Boston
| url = {{URL|https://www.isu.org/figure-skating/isu-skating-awards/}}
| name = ISU Figure Skating Awards
| country = USA
| firstawarded = 2020
| presenter = International Skating Union
| image = International Skating Union logo.png
| previous_date = Sunday, March 30
}}
The ISU Figure Skating Awards is an annual awards ceremony organized by the International Skating Union (ISU) to recognize outstanding achievements in Figure Skating.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-28 |title=ISU Skating Awards to be launched in 2020 |url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1086417/isu-skating-awards-launched |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=www.insidethegames.biz}} This prestigious awards honors not only the Skaters who captivate audiences worldwide through their creativity and entertainment but also the dedicated coaches, choreographers, and costume designers who bring the sport to life behind the scenes.
The awards are presented in a variety of categories: Most Entertaining Program, Most Valuable Skater, Special Achievement, Lifetime Achievement, Best Coach, Best Choreographer, Best Costume, Best Newcomer.
A long list of candidates is selected by a Selection Commission which is submitted to a public and media vote. The public vote counts for 2/3 while the media vote counts for 1/3.
In 2025, the following categories are open for voting:
- Best Costume
- Most Entertaining Program
- Best Coach
- Best Choreographer
The following categories are not subject to voting:
- Lifetime Achievement Award: will be selected exclusively by the Selection Commission.
- Best Newcomer: this year with only three candidates, they are automatically advanced to the Nominees stage.
- A new category will be announced soon. Stay tuned!
Following the public / media vote, three nominees in each category are announced and finally the Award winners are decided by an expert international jury in six categories.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-05 |title=Team USA Wins Big at ISU Skating Awards |url=https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/news/2023/2/5/figure-skating-team-usa-wins-big-at-isu-skating-awards.aspx |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone |language=en}}
History
First announced in 2019, the ISU Figure Skating Awards were created to celebrate and recognize outstanding achievements in Figure Skating.
The inaugural event was originally set to take place during the 2020 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada. However, due to the global pandemic, the ceremony was moved online and hosted by Tanith White (1x Olympic silver and 2 x World silver medalist) and Charlie White{{Cite web |date=12 July 2020 |title=What we learned from the first ISU Skating Awards |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/first-isu-skating-awards-review |website=Olympics}}, (Olympic and two time world Champion) ice dancers who brought their expertise and energy to the first-ever virtual event.
In 2023 and 2024, the ceremony was held in Zürich, Switzerland, alongside an on-ice live show in partnership with Art on Ice and was streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube channel.
In 2025, changes were made to the Awards. They will be called the “ISU Figure Skating Awards” and will be a standalone event. The ceremony will take place on 30 March in Boston, Massachusetts on the final day of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
The hosts of the awards have included legends of Figure Skating and icons from the world of sport, such as Elma Smit (TV presenter and journalist), Kurt Browning (four-time World Champion and skating legend), and Johnny Weir (two-time Olympian, World bronze medalist and TV commentator). Each bringing their unique charisma and passion to make the event unforgettable!
The following categories have been presented throughout the years{{Cite web |date=2020-02-28 |title=Eli Rose, Cirque Éloize and Momento Sounds to perform at the ISU Skating Awards |url=https://skatecanada.ca/2020/02/eli-rose-cirque-eloize-and-momento-sounds-to-perform-at-the-isu-skating-awards/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=Skate Canada}}
- Most Valuable Skater
- Most Entertaining Program
- Best Newcomer
- Best Costume
- Best Coach
- Best Choreographer
- Lifetime Achievement
- Special Achievement (since 2023)
Past Winners
The following lists detail ISU Skating Awards winners to date.
= 2020 =
| class="wikitable"
! Award |
| Most Valuable Skater
|{{flagicon|JPN}} Yuzuru Hanyu |{{flagicon|USA}} Nathan Chen |
| Most Entertaining Program
|{{flagicon|FRA}} Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron |{{flagicon|RUS}} Evgenia Medvedeva |
| Best Newcomer
|{{flagicon|RUS}} Alena Kostornaia |{{flagicon|RUS}} Alexandra Trusova |
| Best Costume
|{{flagicon|USA}} Madison Chock / Evan Bates |{{flagicon|JPN}} Yuzuru Hanyu |
| Best Coach
|{{flagicon|RUS}} Eteri Tutberidze |{{flagicon|USA}} Rafael Arutyunyan |
| Best Choreographer
|{{flagicon|CAN}} Shae-Lynn Bourne |{{flagicon|CAN}} Marie-France Dubreuil |
| Lifetime Achievement
|{{flagicon|CAN}} Kurt Browning |{{n/a}} |
= 2021 =
| class="wikitable"
! Award |
| Lifetime Achievement
|{{flagicon|RUS}} Tamara Moskvina |{{n/a}} |
= 2022 =
= 2023 =
| class="wikitable"
! Award |
| Most Valuable Skater
|{{flagicon|USA}} Nathan Chen |{{flagicon|FRA}} Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron |
| Most Entertaining Program
|{{flagicon|FRA}} Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron |{{flagicon|MEX}} Donovan Carrillo |
| Best Newcomer
|{{flagicon|USA}} Isabeau Levito |{{flagicon|EST}} Niina Petrõkina |
| Best Costume
|{{flagicon|USA}} Madison Chock / Evan Bates |{{flagicon|JPN}} Yuzuru Hanyu |
| Best Coach
|{{flagicon|CAN}} Patrice Lauzon |{{flagicon|USA}} Rafael Arutyunyan |
| Best Choreographer
|{{flagicon|CAN}} Shae-Lynn Bourne |{{flagicon|FRA}} Benoît Richaud |
| Special Achievement
|{{flagicon|USA}} Ilia Malinin |{{n/a}} |
| Lifetime Achievement
|{{flagicon|GER}} Katarina Witt |{{n/a}} |
= 2024 =
| class="wikitable"
! Award |
| Most Valuable Skater
|{{flagicon|USA}} Ilia Malinin |{{flagicon|JPN}} Kaori Sakamoto |
| Most Entertaining Program
|{{flagicon|FRA}} Adam Siao Him Fa |{{flagicon|FRA}} Kevin Aymoz |
| Best Newcomer
|{{flagicon|JPN}} Hana Yoshida |{{flagicon|BEL}} Nina Pinzarrone |
| Best Costume
|{{flagicon|BEL}} Loena Hendrickx |{{flagicon|USA}} Madison Chock / Evan Bates |
| Best Coach
|{{flagicon|JPN}} Mie Hamada |{{flagicon|SUI}} Stéphane Lambiel |
| Best Choreographer
|{{flagicon|FRA}} Benoît Richaud |{{flagicon|CAN}} Shae-Lynn Bourne |
| Special Achievement
|{{flagicon|CAN}} Deanna Stellato-Dudek |{{n/a}} |
| Lifetime Achievement
|{{flagicon|CAN}} Brian Orser |{{n/a}} |
= 2025 =
| class="wikitable"
! Award |
| Skater(s) of the Year
|{{flagicon|USA}} Ilia Malinin {{flagicon|USA}} Madison Chock / Evan Bates |{{n/a}} |
| Most Entertaining Program
|{{flagicon|USA}} Ilia Malinin |{{flagicon|KOR}} Cha Jun-hwan |
| Best Newcomer
|{{flagicon|UZB}} Ekaterina Geynish / Dmitrii Chigirev |{{flagicon|USA}} Sarah Everhardt |
| Best Costume
|{{flagicon|ESP}} Olivia Smart / Tim Dieck |{{flagicon|KOR}} Cha Jun-hwan |
| Best Coach
|{{flagicon|UZB}} Tatiana Malinina / Roman Skorniakov |{{flagicon|JPN}} Mie Hamada |
| Best Choreographer
|{{flagicon|CAN}} Shae-Lynn Bourne |{{flagicon|SUI}} Stéphane Lambiel |
| Lifetime Achievement
|{{flagicon|USA}} Scott Hamilton |{{n/a}} |
= Wins per country (2020–2025) =
| class="wikitable"
! Country ! Wins |
| {{USA}}
|10 |
| {{CAN}}
|7 |
| {{FRA}}
|4 |
| {{RUS}}
|4 |
| {{JAP}}
|3 |
| {{UZB}}
|2 |
| {{BEL}}
|1 |
| {{GER}}
|1 |
| {{ESP}}
|1 |
| {{GBR}}
|1 |
Jurors
The ISU Skating Awards jury is made up of six jurors each of whom is a former Figure Skating Champion.
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Jurors |
| 2020
|Eric Radford (CAN) Lu Chen (CHN) Surya Bonaly (FRA) Miki Ando (JPN) Tatyana Navka (RUS) Todd Eldredge (USA) |
| 2021
| |
| 2022
| |
| 2023
|Eric Radford (CAN) Kiira Korpi (FIN) Surya Bonaly (FRA) Miki Ando (JPN) Christopher Dean (GBR) Todd Eldredge (USA) |
| 2024
|Miki Ando (JPN){{Cite web |title=ISU Skating Awards How |url=https://www.isu.org/figure-skating/isu-skating-awards/skating-awards-how |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=www.isu.org |language=en-gb}} Brian Boitano (USA) Surya Bonaly (FRA) Lu Chen (CHN) Laura Lepisto (FIN) Andrew Poje (CAN) |
Special Guests
Each year the ISU Skating Awards features a special performance from a star guest.
- 2020: Aloe Blacc, singer/songwriter{{Cite web |title=Aloe Blacc to perform his new single at the ISU Skating Awards - International Skating Union |url=https://isu.org/figure-skating/news/news-fsk/13209-aloe-blacc-to-perform-his-new-single-at-the-isu-skating-awards?templateParam=15 |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=isu.org}}
- 2021: James Morrison, singer/songwriter/guitarist{{Cite news |last=Skating Union |first=International |title=ISU Lifetime Achievement Award recipients revealed |pages=3 |work=International Skating Union |url=https://www.isu.org/media-centre/press-releases/2021-2/25970-isu-lifetime-achievement-award-recipients-revealed/file#:~:text=Singer%20and%20songwriter%20James%20Morrison,lifetime%20achievement%20award%20was%20awarded. }}
- 2023: Melanie C, singer/songwriter/original member of The Spice Girls
- 2024: Dave Stewart, musician/songwriter/producer, original member of Eurythmics