Bofrost Cup on Ice

Bofrost Cup on Ice
StatusDefunct
GenreISU Grand Prix
Location(s)Gelsenkirchen
Country Germany
Years active1986–2004
Organised byGerman Ice Skating Union

The Bofrost Cup on Ice was an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the German Ice Skating Union (German: Deutsche Eislauf-Union). The first iteration was held in 1986 in Frankfurt. When the ISU launched the Champions Series (later renamed the Grand Prix Series) in 1995, the German competition – then called the Nations Cup – was one of the five qualifying events. It remained a Grand Prix event until 2002, after which point it was supplanted by the Cup of China. This event was held under several names, including the Fujifilm Trophy and the Sparkassen Cup on Ice. The last installment of this competition took place in 2004.

Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earned points based on their results at the qualifying competitions each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline were invited to then compete at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Evgeni Plushenko of Russia holds the record for winning the most Bofrost Cup on Ice titles in men's singles (with four), while Maria Butyrskaya of Russia holds the record in women's singles (with three). Mandy Wötzel and Ingo Steuer of Germany hold the record in pair skating (with four), while Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov of Russia hold the record in ice dance (with four).

History

Beginning with the 1995–96 season, the International Skating Union (ISU) launched the Champions Series – later renamed the Grand Prix Series – which, at its inception, consisted of five qualifying competitions and the Champions Series Final. This allowed skaters to perfect their programs earlier in the season, as well as compete against the skaters with whom they would later compete at the World Championships.[1] This series also provided the viewing public with additional televised skating, which had been in demand.[1] The five qualifying competitions during the inaugural season were the 1995 Nations Cup, the 1995 NHK Trophy, the 1995 Skate America, the 1995 Skate Canada, and the 1995 Trophée de France.[2] Skaters earned points based on their results in their respective competitions and the top skaters or teams in each discipline were invited to compete at the 1995–96 Champions Series Final.[1]

The inaugural competition – the 1986 Fujifilm Trophy – was held in Frankfurt. Petr Barna of Czechoslovakia won the men's event, Dianne Takeuchi of Canada won the women's event, Melanie Gaylor and Lee Barkell of Canada won the pairs event, and Lia Trovati and Roberto Pelizzola of Italy won the ice dance event.[3] From 1986 to 1987, the competition was known as the Fujifilm Trophy. There was no event held in 1988. In 1989, the competition – now known as the Nations Cup – moved to Gelsenkirchen, where it remained for the entirety of its run. In 1998, the competition changed its name to the Sparkassen Cup on Ice, and in 2002, it again changed its name, this time to the Bofrost Cup on Ice, in recognition of its sponsor, the frozen foods company Bofrost.

In 2003, the Bofrost Cup on Ice lost its spot in the Grand Prix series after the Chinese Skating Association reached a more lucrative television contract with the ISU, and the Cup of China replaced it on the schedule.[4] Reinhard Mirmseker, then-president of the German Ice Skating Union, tried to convince the ISU that rather than stripping the rights to a Grand Prix event from Germany, they should hold a seventh Grand Prix event instead, or perhaps rotate the sixth event among the nations of Europe, but those suggestions were turned down.[4]

Despite losing its spot in the Grand Prix series, the German Ice Skating Union continued to stage the competition anyway, but with a unique format. In lieu of the usual short programs, singles skaters competed in a jumping event, where each skater performed a particular jump or jump combination in a round-robin format and were scored by a panel of judges. After each skater received their score, they had the option of either keeping it, or risk performing the jump again for a potential higher score. Skaters with the lowest average scores were eliminated in each round.[4] Carolina Kostner of Italy praised the format of the event: "This competition was very cool. Every skater had a second chance."[4] Likewise, Joannie Rochette of Canada stated: "This competition is really good. It's exciting and thrilling. I like the combination of a jump competition with a free program."[4] The comparable event for pair teams involved performing throw jumps, side-by-side jumps, and lifts in the same competitive format. Ice dance teams performed their original dances as they would have at a normal competition.[4] All skaters and teams performed their free skates or free dances for the second half of the competition. Although this new format was well received, and the German Ice Skating Union had hoped to continue it as an annual invitational event,[4] the Bofrost Cup on Ice did not continue after 2004.

Medalists

The 2002 Bofrost Cup on Ice champions: Evgeni Plushenko of Russia (men's singles); Yoshie Onda of Japan (women's singles); Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China (pair skating); and Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria (ice dance)

Men's singles

Men's event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1986 Frankfurt Petr Barna Alessandro Riccitelli Zhang Shubin [3]
1987 Christopher Bowman Vladimir Petrenko Makoto Kano [5]
1988 No competition held
1989 Gelsenkirchen Petr Barna Viktor Petrenko Paul Wylie [6]
1990 Kurt Browning Todd Eldredge Ronny Winkler [7]
1991 Mark Mitchell Mirko Eichhorn Daniel Weiss [8]
1992 Todd Eldredge Alexei Urmanov Viacheslav Zagorodniuk [9]
1993 Viktor Petrenko Scott Davis Sébastien Britten [10]
1994 Elvis Stojko Shepherd Clark Dmitri Dmitrenko [11]
1995 Viacheslav Zagorodniuk Alexei Urmanov Todd Eldredge [12]
1996 Alexei Urmanov Dmitri Dmitrenko Alexei Yagudin [13]
1997 Elvis Stojko Igor Pashkevich Alexander Abt [14]
1998 Alexei Yagudin Alexander Abt Andrejs Vlascenko [15]
1999 Evgeni Plushenko Guo Zhengxin Matthew Savoie [16]
2000 Timothy Goebel Li Chengjiang [17]
2001 [18]
2002 Alexander Abt [19]
2003 Stefan Lindemann Jeffrey Buttle Silvio Smalun [20]
2004 Ben Ferreira Matthew Savoie [21]

Women's singles

Women's event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1986 Frankfurt Dianne Takeuchi Fu Caishu Cornelia Renner [3]
1987 Midori Ito Jill Trenary Natalia Gorbenko [5]
1988 No competition held
1989 Gelsenkirchen Tonya Harding Marina Kielmann Patricia Neske [6]
1990 Kristi Yamaguchi Evelyn Großmann Karen Preston [7]
1991 Nancy Kerrigan Marina Kielmann Laëtitia Hubert [8]
1992 Surya Bonaly Tanya Bingert Marina Kielmann [9]
1993 Tanja Szewczenko Oksana Baiul Rena Inoue [10]
1994 Marina Kielmann Elena Liashenko Tanja Szewczenko [11]
1995 Michelle Kwan Maria Butyrskaya Nicole Bobek [12]
1996 Irina Slutskaya Tara Lipinski Vanessa Gusmeroli [13]
1997 Tanja Szewczenko Irina Slutskaya Elena Liashenko [14]
1998 Elena Sokolova Yulia Lavrenchuk Maria Butyrskaya [15]
1999 Maria Butyrskaya Elena Liashenko Irina Slutskaya [16]
2000 Sarah Hughes Tatiana Malinina [17]
2001 Yoshie Onda Angela Nikodinov [18]
2002 Yoshie Onda Fumie Suguri Susanna Pöykiö [19]
2003 Joannie Rochette Susanna Pöykiö Júlia Sebestyén [20]
2004 Jane Bugaeva Constanze Paulinus Annie Bellemare [21]

Pairs

Pairs event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1986 Frankfurt
  • Colette May
  • Carl Nelson
  • Kerstin Kiminus
  • Stefan Pfrengle
 [3]
1987
  • Laurene Collin
  • John Penticost
 [5]
1988 No competition held
1989 Gelsenkirchen
[6]
1990 [7]
1991 [8]
1992 [9]
1993 [10]
1994 [11]
1995 [12]
1996 [13]
1997 [14]
1998 [15]
1999 [16]
2000 [17]
2001 [18]
2002 [19]
2003 [20]
2004 [21]

Ice dance

Ice dance event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1986 Frankfurt
[3]
1987
  • Michela Malingambi
  • Andrea Gilardi
 [5]
1988 No competition held
1989 Gelsenkirchen
[6]
1990 [7]
1991 [8]
1992 [9]
1993 [10]
1994
[11]
1995 [12]
1996 [13]
1997 [14]
1998 [15]
1999 [16]
2000 [17]
2001 [18]
2002 [19]
2003 [20]
2004 [21]

Records

Records
Discipline Most titles
Skater(s) No. Years Ref.
Men's singles 4 1999–2002 [22]
Women's singles 3 1999–2001 [23]
Pairs 4 1992;
1994;
1996–97 		[9][11][13][14]
Ice dance 4 1995–98 [24][9]
[a] 5 1992;
1995–98
  1. ^ Anjelika Krylova won three titles while partnered with Vladimir Fedorov (1992) and four with Oleg Ovsyannikov (1995–98).

Cumulative medal count

Men's singles

Total number of Bofrost Cup medals in men's singles by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Russia64212
2 United States35412
3 Canada3216
4 Germany2147
5 Ukraine2125
6 Czechoslovakia2002
7 Soviet Union0202
8 China0145
9 Azerbaijan0101
 Italy0101
11 Japan0011
Totals (11 entries)18181854

Women's singles

Total number of Bofrost Cup medals in women's singles by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States53210
2 Russia5229
3 Germany3328
4 Japan2215
5 Canada2125
6 France1023
7 Ukraine0415
8 West Germany0123
9 Finland0112
10 China0101
11 Hungary0011
 Soviet Union0011
 Uzbekistan0011
Totals (13 entries)18181854

Pairs

Total number of Bofrost Cup medals in pairs by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Russia56314
2 Germany4318
3 Canada3418
4 Soviet Union2103
5 China2013
6 United States1258
7 France1001
8 East Germany0112
9 Great Britain0101
10 Czech Republic0022
11 Latvia0011
 Poland0011
 Ukraine0011
 West Germany0011
Totals (14 entries)18181854

Ice dance

Total number of Bofrost Cup medals in ice dance by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Russia5049
2 Soviet Union4004
3 Italy3137
4 Canada2327
5 Bulgaria2013
6 France1225
7 Ukraine1113
8 Germany0235
9 United States0213
10 Czech Republic0202
 Lithuania0202
12 West Germany0112
13 Great Britain0101
 Israel0101
Totals (14 entries)18181854

Total medals

Total number of Bofrost Cup medals by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Russia21121144
2 Canada1010626
3 United States9121233
4 Germany991028
5 Soviet Union63110
6 Ukraine36514
7 France3249
8 Italy3238
9 China2259
10 Japan2226
11 Bulgaria2013
12 Czechoslovakia2002
13 West Germany0246
14 Czech Republic0224
15 Great Britain0202
 Lithuania0202
17 East Germany0112
 Finland0112
19 Azerbaijan0101
 Israel0101
21 Hungary0011
 Latvia0011
 Poland0011
 Uzbekistan0011
Totals (24 entries)727272216

References

  1. ^ a b c Hines, James R. (2006). Figure Skating: A History. University of Illinois Press. pp. 246–247, 332–335. ISBN 978-0-252-07286-4.
  2. ^ "Lucrative Grand Prix gets green light" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 72, no. 8. August 1995. p. 8. ISSN 0037-6132. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Skate Canada Results Book (Volume 2)" (PDF). Skate Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Bofrost Cup on Ice 2003". Golden Skate. 11 November 2003. Archived from the original on 30 October 2006. Retrieved 30 October 2006.
  5. ^ a b c d "Fuji Film Trophy". Skating. Vol. 65, no. 1. January 1988. pp. 15–16. ISSN 0037-6132.
  6. ^ a b c d "Nations Cup on Ice 1989" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 67, no. 1. January 1990. pp. 31–32. ISSN 0037-6132. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d "RWE Nations Cup on Ice '90" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 68, no. 2. February 1991. pp. 47–48. ISSN 0037-6132. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d Burchstead, Marcia (February 1992). "Ice Abroad: U.S. Retains Title" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 69, no. 2. pp. 18–21, 84. ISSN 0037-6132. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Ice Abroad" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 70, no. 1. January 1993. p. 66. ISSN 0037-6132. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d "Nations Cup on Ice" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 71, no. 1. January 1994. p. 12. ISSN 0037-6132. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d e "1994 Nations Cup" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 72, no. 1. January 1995. p. 12. ISSN 0037-6132. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d "Nations Cup on Ice 1996". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Sparkassen Nations Cup On Ice 1996". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d e "1997 Sparkassen Cup on Ice". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018.
  15. ^ a b c d "1998 Sparkassen Cup on Ice". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d "1999 Sparkassen Cup on Ice". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018.
  17. ^ a b c d "2000 Sparkassen Cup on Ice". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018.
  18. ^ a b c d "2001 Sparkassen Cup on Ice". Tracings. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  19. ^ a b c d "2002 Bofrost Cup on Ice". Tracings. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  20. ^ a b c d "Cup on Ice 2003". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018.
  21. ^ a b c d "Cup on Ice 2004". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018.
  22. ^ "Competition Results – Evgeni Plushenko". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Career". Maria Butyrskaya: The Official Site. Archived from the original on 9 August 2002.
  24. ^ "Amateur Career". Krylova & Ovsyannikov. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011.
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