French Figure Skating Championships

The French Figure Skating Championships (French:Championnats de France de patinage artistique) are an annual figure skating competition organized by the French Federation of Ice Sports (French:Fédération Française des Sports de Glace) to crown the national champions of France. The first official French Championships were held in 1908 in Chamonix. The competition, exclusively for men, consisted of special figures and free skating; Louis Magnus was the winner. A competition for women was added the next year, pair skating was added in 1911, and ice dance in 1948. The championships were interrupted during both World War I and World War II.

Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels, although not every discipline may be held every year due to a lack of participants. Alain Giletti currently holds the record for winning the most French Championship titles in men's singles (with ten), while Andrée Brunet (née Joly) holds the record in women's singles (also with ten). Andrée Brunet also holds the record in pair skating with her husband Pierre Brunet (with eleven), while Jean-Paul Guhel holds the record in ice dance (with nine), although these were not all won with the same partner.

History

Ice skating was first popularized in France during the mid-19th century, when the French could often be seen skating along the canals of Versailles, the Glacière de Gentilly, the Lac d'Enghien, the Ourcq Canal, the ponds of Villette, and the lakes at the Bois de Boulogne. The first skating club in Paris, the Cercle des patineurs, was founded in 1865, and the first artificial ice rink, the Pôle Nord on the Avenue de Clichy, in 1892. France's second ice rink, the Palais de Glace, was constructed from 1893 to 1894 along the Champs-Élysées in Paris, and allowed for figure skating, speed skating, and ice hockey. The French Federation of Ice Sports (French:Fédération Française des Sports de Glace) – originally known as the Union des Fédérations Françaises des Sports de Glace – was founded in 1903 to oversee all winter sports in France except for skiing. In 1908, the organization was renamed the Fédération Française des Sports d'Hiver, and it oversaw figure skating, ice dance, speed skating, bobsleigh, curling, and ice hockey. The first official figure skating championship event for men was held in 1908 in Chamonix. It featured special figures and free skating; Louis Magnus was the winner. A separate event for women was held the next year in Paris; Yvonne Lacroix won the event. Championships in pair skating debuted in 1911, and ice dance in 1948.

No competitions were held from 1915 to 1919 due to World War I, nor from 1940 to 1941 and from 1943 to 1945 owing to the German occupation of France during World War II. After the liberation of France in 1945, championships returned, and have since been held without interruption. The 2021 French Championships, originally scheduled to be held in December 2020, were at first cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but were later reinstated and held in February 2021 in Vaujany.

Senior medalists

Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Junior medalists

Men's singles

Women's singles

Pairs

Ice dance

Records

Notes

Works cited

• Billouin, Alain (1999). Le livre d'or du patinage [The Golden Book of Skating] (in French). Paris: Éditions Solar. ISBN2-263-02953-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

External links

• (in French)
• (in French)