For the first time in history, a European nation will host a Four Continents Championships. Originally scheduled to be held in Tianjin, China, the ISU was notified on Sep. 13, 2021 that the event had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation in that country. The ISU was unable to secure a host in a non-European nation, but the awesome folks at the Estonian Figure Skating Federation stepped up to the plate and agreed to host the competition.
The 2022 Four Continents Championships will take place in Tallinn, Jan. 20-23. Tatjana Flade reported that a snowstorm on the evening of Jan. 16 caused havoc with skaters and others who were on a flight from Frankfurt to Tallinn, rerouted to Stockholm and then returned to Frankfurt. Some arrived on the late night flight on Monday and others will arrive on Tuesday.
The United States will not field any of the Olympic alternates to this competition, but is nonetheless sending a strong team. Canada assigned its top two junior men, Wesley Chiu and Corey Circelli. Chiu withdrew on Jan. 17. Circelli will be looking for a strong showing in Tallinn to make a case for international assignments next season. Chiu′s next scheduled event is the World Junior Championships.
Australia initially named a full contingent for this competition, but the two pairs teams and an ice dance team subsequently withdrew. This event will also serve as the final selection for the Australian Olympic Winter Games team and the 2022 World Championships in singles. No pairs or ice dance teams from that nation qualified to compete in Beijing.
The men′s event currently lists 17 skaters from eight nations. A total of 20 women representing 10 nations are on the roster.
The pairs competition will be a two-way battle between Canada and the U.S.
Teams from five nations will compete in the ice dance discipline, including Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi of Japan, who will make their Championships debut in Tallinn.
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