2021–22 ISU Junior Grand Prix

The 2021–22 ISU Junior Grand Prix was a series of junior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union that were held from August 2021 through December 2021. It was the junior-level complement to the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earned points based on their placement at each event and the top six in each discipline qualified to compete at the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final in Osaka, Japan. Ultimately, the Grand Prix Final was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 23, 2021, Skate Canada cancelled the second event of the series that it had been scheduled to host in Edmonton, Alberta, citing concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fédération Française des Sports de Glace, the host of the series' first event in Courchevel, offered to replace Skate Canada as host by holding a second, separate JGP event in Courchevel on the originally scheduled dates.^[1]

On June 23, the Japan Skating Federation announced that due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, it would not be sending athletes to any of the first three JGP events.^[2] The JSF ultimately chose to forego the JGP series entirely and did not send athletes to any of the events.^[3] The Chinese Skating Association also did not send athletes to any of the events due to the mandatory quarantine period upon returning home.

On August 5, the ISU announced that due to varying travel and quarantine restrictions during the pandemic, it would consider re-allocation requests on a case-by-case basis according to an outlined criteria of preference. The ISU also said that they would abandon the re-allocation process in the event of an abundance of requests or overly complex requests that would cause logistical issues. In addition, the ISU decided to not implement a JGP ranking for the season and to instead prioritize holding the JGP series safely "with the best possible participation" in light of the pandemic.^[4]

On August 10, the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FFKKR) announced that due to quarantine and vaccination requirements for Russian citizens entering France, it would not be able to send skaters to either of the first two events in Courchevel. As a result, the FFKKR asked the ISU to redistribute the quotas of Russian figure skaters from both stages in France to other stages of the series in countries where entry was possible without restrictive quarantine measures; the ISU Council agreed with the proposals.^[5] Russia received an additional two entries in singles and ice dance at the third JGP event in Slovakia and at the fourth JGP event in Russia.^[6][7]

The locations of the JGP events change yearly. Skate Canada was originally scheduled to host the second JGP event in Edmonton, Alberta, but cancelled the event due to uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fédération Française des Sports de Glace instead hosted two back-to-back JGP events in Courchevel. The pairs event scheduled for Canada was reassigned to Poland.^[1]

During the fourth JGP event in Russia, the rhythm dance, the first event on the opening day, was suspended after one team had performed due to technical issues. The event later resumed at 22:00 after the remainder of the day's events were completed.^[8]

This season, the series was composed of the following events.^[9]

Skaters who reached the age of 13 before July 1, 2021, but had not turned 19 (singles skaters and female pairs or ice dance skaters) or 21 (male pairs or ice dance skaters) were eligible to compete on the junior circuit. Competitors were chosen by their countries according to their federations' selection procedures. The number of entries allotted to each ISU member federation was to have been determined by their skaters' placements at the 2021 World Junior Championships in each discipline; however, the World Junior Championships were cancelled.^[10]

Based on the results of the 2020 World Junior Championships, each ISU member nation was allowed to field the following number of entries per event.^[11]

• If not listed above, one entry in two events is allowed.
• Host federations may enter up to three spots per discipline.

• If not listed above, one entry in three events is allowed.
• Host federations have an unlimited number of entries.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ISU chose not to implement JGP rankings for the 2021–22 season.^[4] On October 4, the ISU announced the alternative qualification procedure for the Junior Grand Prix Final in December.^[12] In addition to the below procedure, Japan, as the host of the Junior Grand Prix Final, was awarded a Wild Card berth in men's and women's singles.^[13]

For singles and ice dance

1. The seven winners of each individual JGP event would qualify for the Final.
2. Should there only be six different individual winners out of the seven individual JGP events because a skater or team won two JGP events, the six individual winners would qualify for the Final.
3. Should there be fewer than six different individual winners out of the seven individual JGP events because more skaters or teams won two JGP events, all of the individual winners would qualify for the Final. In addition, the best second-placed skater or team, and so forth by total score, who were not yet qualified as a winner, would be invited to the Final in order to reach a total of six entries.

For pairs

1. The four winners of each individual JGP event would qualify for the Final.
2. Should there be fewer than four different individual winners out of the four individual JGP events because a team won two JGP events, all of the individual winners would qualify for the Final. In addition, the best second-placed team, and so forth by total score, who were not yet qualified as a winner, would be invited to the Final in order to reach a total of four entries.

Alternates

The following new junior ISU best scores were set during this season:

• At the JGP France I, Hannah Lim and Ye Quan were the first South Korean and the first Asian ice dance team to win an ISU Junior Grand Prix medal (a bronze medal).^[21]
• At the JGP France II, Arlet Levandi was the first Estonian men's singles skater to win an ISU Grand Prix medal (a silver medal) at either the junior or senior level.^[22]
• At the JGP Slovakia, Karina Safina and Luka Berulava were the first Georgian pairs team to win an ISU Grand Prix medal (a silver medal) at either the junior or senior level.^[23]
• At the JGP Poland, Angelina Kudryavtseva and Ilia Karankevich won Cyprus's first ISU Grand Prix medal (a bronze medal) at either the junior or senior level in any discipline.^[24]

• ISU Junior Grand Prix at the International Skating Union