by Matteo Morelli

Japan is getting ready to host the 2025/2026 Grand Prix Final, with the top six junior and six senior ice dance teams that scored the highest points in this year’s Grand Prix season preparing to compete for the prestigious medals that will be up for grab at the event.

Nagoya will be the host city this year, welcoming the event back after it was last hosted there during the 2017/2018 season. Japan typically rotates hosting the Final every four years; however, the event scheduled for the 2021/22 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Qualified teams – Senior

Some interesting stats from this year’s Final:

All medallists from the last World Championships (Chock/bates, Gilles/Poirier, Fear/Gibson) will be facing off against each other in this Final.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates hold the highest number of attendances at a Final, with this being their ninth. They also hold the highest number of medals form the event, with a total of six: two gold and four silver.
Although it is a new partnership, both Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron have already competed at the Grand Prix Final before with their former partners.
Three skaters at this event competed in the Final in Nagoya back in 2017/2018: Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who finished fifth, and Guillaume Cizeron, who won for the first time with his former partner Gabriella Papadakis.

Let’s have a look at each team individually.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA) – 30 points

Madison Chock and Evan Bates qualified with full points and the highest score from this season’s Grand Prix series, winning both Cup of China and Skate America. They have won the last two editions of the event, making a total of four consecutive podium finishes at the Final. Their rhythm dance is set to music by Lenny Kravitz, while their free is a cleverly constructed Flamenco that explores the relationship between a bull and its matador. Both programme costumes were designed by Chock, however the free dance costumes changed from the first to the second Grand Prix, so we are now waiting to find out if any further iteration will be presented in Nagoya.

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron (France) – 28 points

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron also qualified with full points, winning the Grand Prix de France and Finlandia Trophy. Although this will be their first Grand Prix Final as a new team, both have previously qualified, with Cizeron attending (and medalling at) four Finals, and Fournier-Beaudry attending two. Their rhythm dance was originally set to music by Depeche Mode, but after receiving feedback regarding compliance with this year’s them, they switched it to Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Rescue me”. Their free dance is to music from the movie “The Whale”, an intense and deep programme that they said helped them to quickly bond as a team. 

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (Great Britain) – 28 points

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won a silver medal at Grand Prix de France and gold at NHK Trophy. This will be their fourth consecutive Final, after finishing on the podium last year with a bronze medal. This year, they have chosen programmes that are linked to their roots: a Spice Girls medley for their rhythm dance, and Scottish dances and musics for their free dance. They have just made history by winning an eighth consecutive title at British nationals, surpassing the record previously held by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (Canada) – 28 points

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won Skate Canada International and earned a silver medal at Finlandia Trophy. This will be their fifth Final, where they will aim to add another medal to the gold and silver they have won in previous editions. Interestingly, they competed in their first Grand Prix Final in the 2014/15 season. This year, their rhythm dance showcases RuPaul’s “Supermodel”, and their free is a reimagined version of their 2018/19 “Vincent” programme.

Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius (Lithuania) – 24 points

First Grand Prix Final for Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius, who won silver at Skate Canada International and bronze at NHK Trophy. With the Olympics now within reach for them, they will showcase their rhythm dance to “I’m too sexy”, and their free which brings back dance vibes with music from Faithless.

Emilia Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik (USA) – 24 points

Also a first Grand Prix Final for Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, who won silver at Cup of China and bronze at Finlandia Trophy. They will be skating their rhythm dance to “Poison” and “Something in your eyes”, and their free on Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet”.

Qualified Teams – Junior

The top six teams that qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final following all seven Junior Grand Prix events are:

Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin (USA) – 30 points: They won both their Junior Grand Prix events in Thailand and the UAE, qualifying with the highest scores and as top contenders.
Iryna Pidgaina and Artem Koval (Ukraine) – 30 points: They also won both their assignments, with gold medals earned in Turkey and Poland. This will be their second Junior Grand Prix Final, after a fourth-place finish last year.
Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys (Canada) – 28 points: They won their event in Latvia and earned a silver medal in Poland.
Ambre Perrier Gianesini and Samuel Blanc Klaperman (France) – 28 points: They finished on the top of the podium in Azerbaijan and earned a silver medal in Italy.
Jasmine Robertson and Chase Rohner (USA) – 26 points: This team won the event in Italy and collected a bronze medal in Latvia.
Dania Mouaden and Théo Bigot (France) – 26 points: They competed at the opening and closing events, collecting silver medals from Latvia and the UAE.

Event info: Teams have official practices from Wednesday, December 3. The senior rhythm dance kicks off on Thursday, December 4, from 9:20pm (JST), whilst the junior rhythm dance is taking place on Friday, December 5, from 3:20pm (JST); finals will be taking place on Saturday, December 6, with the junior free dance from 4:18pm (JST) and the senior free dance from 5:35pm (JST).