Beginning with the 1995–96 season, the
International Skating Union (ISU) launched the Champions Series – later renamed the Grand Prix Series – which 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 whom they would later encounter at the
World Championships. This series also provided the viewing public with additional televised skating, which had been in demand. 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. When the ISU launched the Champions Series in 1995, Skate Canada International was one of the five qualifying events. It has been a Grand Prix event every year since, except for 2020, when it was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. •
Cup of China: The first Cup of China was held in 2003 in
Beijing as a replacement for the
Bofrost Cup on Ice. The Cup of China has been interrupted three times in its history: in 2018 when the
Chinese Skating Association elected to forgo hosting any international skating events in order to prepare its venues for the
2022 Winter Olympics, and then in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. •
Grand Prix of Finland: The first Grand Prix of Finland was held in 2018 in
Helsinki as a replacement for the Cup of China. It returned in 2022 as a replacement for the
Rostelecom Cup after Russia was banned from hosting any international figure skating competitions following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. This event has been held under several names, including the Grand Prix of Helsinki, When the ISU launched the Champions Series in 1995, the Grand Prix de France was one of the five qualifying events.
The Grand Prix de France has been held under several names, including the Trophée de France, the Trophée Éric Bompard, and the Internationaux de France. When the ISU launched the Champions Series in 1995, the NHK Trophy was one of the five qualifying events. When the ISU launched the Champions Series in 1995, Skate America was one of the five qualifying events. and then cancelled in December 2020. When the ISU launched the Champions Series in 1995, the German competition – at that point called the Nations Cup – was one of the five qualifying events. •
Rostelecom Cup: The first iteration of the Rostelecom Cup – originally known as the Cup of Russia – was held in 1996 in
Saint Petersburg as part of the Champions Series. It was a Grand Prix event every year until the ISU barred Russia from hosting international skating competitions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. •
MK John Wilson Trophy: In July 2022, the ISU announced the cancellation of the 2022 Cup of China due to China's ongoing travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Skating Union established the
Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in 1997 as a comparable series to the Grand Prix series. It consists of a series of seven international figure skating competitions exclusively for junior-level skaters. The locations of the Junior Grand Prix events change every year. Skaters earn points based on their results each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline are then invited to compete at the
Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Beginning with the
2008–09 figure skating season, the Grand Prix Final and Junior Grand Prix Final have been held concurrently. ==Grand Prix champions==